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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



The Story of America 

for 

Young Americans 



By 
G. M. BEATTIE 



Published by 

The American School for the Deaf 

Hartford, Connecticut 






Copyright 

The American School for the Deaf 

Hartford, Connecticut 



/ 

MAY !5I9!6 

©CI.A428902 



CONTENTS. 



II. 
III. 
IV 



V. 
VI. 



CHAPTER 

I. — Introductory 

-Columbus and the Discovery of America 

-The Indians 

—Discoverers following Columbus : — Cabot, Americus 
\'espucius, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Magellan, Cortez, 
Verrazano, Cartier, De Soto, Coronado, IVIenendez 

-Sir Waiter Raleigh 

-John Smith and the Founding of Virginia 
VII.— Henry Hudson and the Founding of New York . 
VIII.— The Pilgrims and the Founding of Massachusetts 
IX.— The Puritans and Other Settlers in New England 
X.— Roger Williams and the Founding of Rhode Island 
XL— Lord Baltimore and the Founding of Maryland . 
XI L— The Founders of North CaroHna and South Carolina 
XIIL— William Penn and the Founding of Pennsylvania 
XIV.— James Oglethorpe and the Founding of Georgia . 
XV.— Life of the Early Colonists 
XVI.— Indian Wars . 
XVII. — The French in America 
XVIIL— The Revolutionary War 
XIX. — George Washington 
XX. — Benjamin Franklin 

XXL— Daniel Boone and the Founding of Kentucky 
XXIL— James Robertson and John Sevier— the Founders of 

Tennessee 

XXIIL— George Rogers Clarke 

XXIV.— Our Country at the Close of the Revolutionary War 

XXV.— Rufus Putnam and Settlements iii the Ohio Valley 

XXVI. —Thomas Jefferson ... ... 

XXVIL— The War of 1812 ...•••• 

iii 



PAGE 

1 

13 

17 



22 
33 
37 
43 
47 
53 
56 
58 
62 
64 
68 
71 
76 
78 
82 
91 
95 
99 

103 
105 
107 
109 
112 
115 



.3 



Copyright 

The American School for the Deaf 

Hartford, Connecticut 



MAY I5I9I6 

©CI,A4289y2 
^0 / . 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. — Introductory 1 

II. — Columbus and the Discovery of America ... 13 

III.— The Indians 17 

IV.— Discoverers following Columbus: — Cabot, Americus 
Vespucius, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, Magellan, Cortez, 

Verrazano, Cartier, De Soto, Coronado, Menendez . 22 

v.— Sir Waiter Raleigh 33 

VI. — John Smith and the Founding of Virginia ... 37 

VII. — Henry Hudson and the Founding of New York . . 43 

VIII. — The Pilgrims and the Founding of Massachusetts . 47 

IX. — The Puritans and Other Settlers in New England . 53 

X. — Roger Williams and the Founding of Rhode Island . 56 

XI. — Lord Baltimore and the Founding of Maryland . . 58 

XII. — The Founders of North CaroHna and South Carolina . 62 

XIII. — William Penn and the Founding of Pennsylvania . 64 

XIV. — James Oglethorpe and the Founding of Georgia . . 68 

XV. — Life of the Early Colonists 71 

XVI. — Indian Wars 76 

XVII. — The French in America 78 

XVI II.— The Revolutionary War 82 

XIX. — George Washington 91 

XX. — Benjamin Franklin 95 

XXI. — Daniel Boone and the Founding of Kentucky . . 99 
XXII. — James Robertson and John Sevier — the Founders of 

Tennessee 103 

XXIII.— George Rogers Clarke 105 

XXIV. — Our Country at the Close of the Revolutionary War . 107 

XXV.— Rufus Putnam and Settlements in the Ohio Valley . 109 

XXVI.— Thomas Jefferson ... .... 112 

XXVIL— The War of 1812 115 



ni 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 
XXVUI. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 



XXXIX. 
XL. 

XLI. 
XLII. 



-Andrew Jackson 

-Growth of the United States 

-The Mexican War . 

-Events in the West 

-The Civil War 

-Abraham Lincoln 

-Ulysses S. Grant 

-Robert E. Lee 

-Thomas J. Jackson 

-Events following the Civil War 

-Inventions: — the cotton-gin, the steamboat, railways 

the telegraph, the telephone, Edison's electrical in 

ventions 
-Some of our Writers 
-The Spanish War . 
-Events since the Spanish 
-Changes in our Country . 



120 
123 
124 
126 
129 
134 
139 
142 
146 
149 



152 
163 
167 
171 
176 



TO THE TEACHER 



As the history of our country is but a continuation of that of the Old 
World, before beginning the story of America our pupils should learn 
something of the history of the countries from which our forefathers came. 
In the introductory chapter of this book the purpose is mainly to point 
out the chief phases in the civilizations of the European nations which 
have contributed mostly to our own civilization. Merely an outline has 
been given which it is hoped the teacher will fill in as she sees fit for her 
particular class, or it m^ay be that she w-ill deem it best to omit certain 
portions. Some of the myths and other stories of Greece and Rome 
should be given as supplementary reading, and certain historical characters 
and events might be touched upon. 

In the story of our country which follows, it has been the aim to tell 
only of the events most important for children to know and to use 
language so simple and clear that it may be easily comprehended by young 
pupils. 

As children are more readih' interested in persons than in bare state- 
ments of events, we have tried to give as much of the history as possible 
through the medium of biography. In addition to this, complete sketches 
of the most prominent characters of our nation have been given throughout 
the book so that they may be studied independently of other parts of the 
text when so desired. 

In the preparation of lessons, the location of all places named should 
be clear in the mind of the pupil, and in recitations we suggest that large 
maps be kept be.fore the class. We believe that topical recitations given in 
the pupil's own words develop ease in expression and clearness in ideas, 
and with this in mind we have given suggestions for such recitations at 
the end of each chapter. 



THE STORY OF AMERICA 




From a Painting 
NORWEGIAN SHIPS 

CHAPTER I 
Introductory 



Five hundred years ago there were no white people Hving in 
America. Only Indians were to be found scattered over the 
land. Most of them lived in villages of wigwams or roved 
through the forests and over the plains and mountains. 

It is not known exactly when the first white people came to 



2 INTRODUCTORY 

America. The first we know of are told about in some old 
stories of Norway and Sweden. These stories say that parties 
of Norwegians made voyages to the eastern coast about a thou- 
sand years before Christ. 

At that time the people of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, 
who were called the Northmen, were the most daring seamen 
in the world. They had long ships which they sailed or rowed 
to distant lands. Some of them finally settled in Iceland, and 
later one of them called Eric the Red founded a colony on the 
southwestern coast of Greenland. 

According to the old stories, it was Lief Ericson, the son of 
Eric, and other Norwegians from Greenland who sailed to the 
eastern coast of America. It is supposed that they landed at 
several places on the coast of what is now Massachusetts. But 
they stayed only a short time, nothing came of their discoveries, 
and in time they were forgotten. 

The first white people who settled in our land came from 
countries in Europe, — chiefly from England, France, Holland; 
Spain, Italy, and Germany. 

These countries are all very much older than ours. For 
hundreds of years before there were any white people in 
America, there had been great cities in them. When our fore- 
fathers crossed the Atlantic, they had already learned how to 
make laws and to govern cities and countries, and they could 
build fine buildings, make ships and guns, and write and print. 

2 

It will help us to understand our own history if we learn 
something about the countries from which our forefathers 
came. 



INTRODUCTORY 3 

The civilized peoples of Europe came from peoples who lived 
still farther east. 

The Caucasian or white race has always been the most civilized 
of all people. They are the ones we learn about in history. The 
first people of this race lived together somewhere in the western 
part of Asia thousands of years ago. In time they separated and 
formed different nations. The leading nations among them 




PYRAMID IN EGYPT 

gradually moved westward. They settled first in countries 
around the Mediterranean sea, and later spread over Europe. 

One of the most important of these ancient peoples settled in 
Egypt in the northern part of Africa. The Egyptians were 
wonderful builders. They built huge temples, and great pyra- 
mids for sepulchres for their kings. These pyramids and the 
ruins of their large temples are still standing. 



4 INTRODUCTORY 

It was the Egyptians who first invented a way of writing. 
They used pictures and queer-looking marks to stand for certain 
sounds and words. They also knew a great deal about farming, 
and about astronomy, geography, mathematics, and medicine. In 



(^\f\'\'z%r i 



OLD EGYPTIAN WRITING 

Supposed to be the name Cleopatra 



time the people of Europe learned much about these things from 
the Egyptians, and a great deal of what v/e know has come down 
to us from them. 

Another important people were the Phoenicians who settled 
along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. They sailed all 
over the Mediterranean and became great trading people and 
built a number of settlements. The most important thing about 
them to us is that they invented the first perfect alphabet. Our 
alphabet has come from theirs though it has been changed a 
great deal from it. 

The Hebrews settled in what is now Palestine about two 
thousand years before Christ was born. They were great reli- 
gious teachers. All of the ancient peoples had religions, but that 
of the Hebrews was the noblest. They worshiped only one God 
while other nations worshiped many. A great deal of our 
religious teaching has come from them. 

Another ancient people were the Persians. They were great 
soldiers and rulers. About six hundred years before Christ the 
Persians ruled over a great part of Asia. 

After a time, however, these nations ceased to be the most 
important ones in the history of the world. The Greeks then 
became the leaders of all the peoples who had moved westward 



INTRODUCTORY 5 

f.rom Asia. They settled first in what is still called Greece and 
on islands in the Aegean sea. 



The Greeks were great in literature and art. They were also 
noted for their love of freedom and for their bravery. 

There was a time in the fifth century before Christ which was 
called the "Age of Pericles " after one of the Greek leaders. 




A TEMPLE IN ATHENS 

During this time there were many fine orators in Greece, and 
a number of learned men wrote great plays. Artists carved 
wonderful statutes in marble and bronze, and the Greek cities 
had the most beautiful buildings in the world. The ruins of many 
of these buildings may be seen now in Athens and the other 
cities of Greece. 



6 INTRODUCTORY 

The Greeks planted many colonies on the shores of the 
Mediterranean and Black seas, and traded with the people they 
found in the different places. 

After a time they became great conquerors, and ruled over 
many distant lands. Constantinople, Naples, Marseilles in 
France, and Alexandria in Egypt are some of the cities they 
founded. 

The people in all these lands learned the Grecian customs and 
ways of living. They also learned much from the Greeks in 
architecture, in the making of beautiful statues, and in the writ- 
ing of poetry. And as the people who settled in America came 
from these other nations, we also have been helped in the same 
ways. 

After several hundred years, the power of the Greeks began 
to weaken, and then the Romans became the leading people in 
Europe. 

The first Romans lived in a small village on the banks of the 
river Tiber. But they gradually enlarged their territory and in 
a few hundred years became rulers of all the civilized world. 
They were great soldiers, governors, and lawmakers. 

The Romans conquered the Greeks and the other civilized 
peoples around the Mediterranean sea. Then they went into 
Gaul, the country now called France, and conquered the tribes 
there. They crossed the Rhine into the land we now call Ger- 
many, and later they went into Britain which is now called 
England. Many of the Gauls, Germans, and Britons learned 
the civilized ways of the Romans and Greeks, and in time lived 
and thought much as they did. 

Rome was at her greatest when Augustus was her Emperor. 
It was during his reign that Christ was born. The greatest 



INTRODUCTORY 7 

Roman poets, artists, and orators lived at that time, and it was 
called Rome's " golden age." 

The world owes a great deal to the Romans for what it has 
learned from them about laws and government. 




ROMAN SOLDIERS 

Both the Greeks and Romans were famous for their great 
courage. In their wars many brave deeds were done and there 
are great poems that tell about their heroes. 

Many of our words have come from the Latin, the language 
of the Romans, and from the Greek. Our English forefathers 
lived in Germany before they settled in England, and they 
brought many of our words from Germany. But they also took 
a great many from the Rom.ans and Greeks and many from the 
French and other peoples of Europe and changed them so as to 
make them their own. 



8 INTRODUCTORY 

In time Rome lost her power as Greece and other ancient 
nations had lost theirs. 

About four hundred years after Christ, the Roman Empire 
was divided into two parts. They were called the Eastern 
Empire and the Western Empire. Soon after this the Roman 
power began to grow less. 

The Germans, or Teutons, were a people who lived north of 
the Romans. Most of them were fierce barbarians and great foes 
of the Romans. After the Roman Empire was divided, some of 
the German tribes poured in great crowds over the northern 
boundary. They settled in some of the towns and plundered 
others. Later they took place after place, and after a number 
of years all of the Western Empire came under their rule. 

Some of the German tribes moved westward into Gaul and 
Spain and along the North sea. One of the tribes that settled in 
Gaul was called the Franks, and they named the land France. 

Most of the Romans had become Christians, and as the Ger- 
mans settled in the lands where they had been, they also adopted 
the Christian religion. 

After some time the Western Empire was divided. Then the 
different nations of Europe as they are now were gradually 
formed. The French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, and 
Dutch nations are some that grew out of the old Western Empire. 

In the fifth century two German tribes, the Angles and 
Saxons, crossed the North sea into Britain. They took the land 
from the people they found there and settled on it. After this 
the country was called England, and the people Englishmen or 
Anglo-Saxons. 

Some years afterwards people came to England from the 
northern part of France and other countries on the continent, 
and some of the kings of England came from these countries. 



INTRODUCTORY 





Offr 






X * 






\4 






4? 






-O^ 


1 

i 



T/^^ W^/n'f^ Portions of the Map Show the Part of the World Knozvn to 
Civilised Peoples 500 Years Ago 

The English people made many good laws, and after a number 
of years they learned to govern themselves in a better way than 
the old Romans and Greeks had done. They found a way to let 
all the people take part in governing their country. Many of our 
American laws have grown out of this good kind of government 
which our English forefathers brought with them from England. 



For hundreds of years the merchants of Europe had traded 
with the southeastern countries of Asia which they called the 
Indies. These countries were a great distance off. It took a very 
long time to reach them for the merchants had to carry their 
goods partly by ship and partly by camels in long caravans across 
the deserts. 

Wool, metals, and wood were sent from many towns in Europe 
to Venice and Genoa, and from these cities they were taken in 
ships across the Mediterranean to eastern seaports, and then 
across Asia to the far East. The merchants brought back silks^ 
jewels, spices, and drugs from the Orient. 



10 INTRODUCTORY 

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there was a great 
deal of this trade going on between Europe and the East. 
Travelers had told wonderful stories of what they had seen in 
the far Eastern countries, and the people of Europe had become 
very much interested in these places. 

One of the travelers who wrote a great deal of what he had 
seen in the far East was an Italian named Marco Polo. He had 
spent a number of years in China, Persia, and other countries 
of the Orient, and he told marvelous tales about them. He told 
of a great Emperor at one place whose palace had floors and roof 
of gold. In another tale he described a palace which had its 
walls covered with gold and silver and w^hose dining hall could 
seat six thousand persons. 

When the merchants of Europe heard the stories of these great 
riches, they began to do more trading than ever with the Orient. 
For a while the Mediterranean swarmed with ships going back 
and forth. 

But after a time the Turks, who were a barbarous people, began 
conquering parts of Asia. In 1453 they took possession of Con- 
stantinople. They gradually stopped the trade over the old routes 
between Europe and the East, and their vessels made the Medi- 
terranean unsafe for European merchants. 

Europeans then had to look for other routes to the Orient. The 
plan that seemed the best to many was to sail around the southern 
end of Africa and then on to India. Prince Henry of Portugal, 
w^ho was called Henry the Navigator, was fond of exploring the 
seas. He became very much interested in the idea of reaching the 
far East in this way. 

In 14 1 8 he began to send sailors down along the western coast 
of Africa. But most people of those days feared long voyages 



INTRODUCTORY 



11 



on the ocean. They believed that there were dreadful monsters 
in it, and that if they sailed very far south, the water would be 
too hot for anyone to live on it. The first Portuguese captain 
went south only a few hundred miles and then turned back. Then 
others tried it. Each one went a few hundred miles farther than 
the one before him. At last in 1487 one of the captains named 
Diaz reached the southern point of the continent and went 
around it. The King of Portugal called this point the Cape of 
Good Hope. 

In 1497 another Portuguese named Vasco da Gama set out 




Map SJioziing Routes of Da Gama, Columbus, and Magellan 



with several vessels. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope, 
he succeeded the next year in reaching Calcutta in India. Then 
in 1499 he returned to Portugal with his vessels full of silks, 
ivory, precious stones, and spices. 

In the meantime, however, other explorers had begun to 
wonder if there might not be some shorter route to the Eastern 
countries of Asia than by sailing around Africa. Among these 
was Christopher Columbus, the great explorer who discovered 
America. 



12 INTRODUCTORY 

I. Tell in what way America was very different five hundred years 

ago from what it is now. 
II. Tell about the coming of the Northmen to America. 

III. Tell from what countries the first white settlers in America 

came. 

IV. Name some of the things our forefathers knew how to do 

before they came to America. 
V. Tell what you can of the earliest history of the white race. 
VI. Tell something about — 

1. The Egyptians. 

2. The Phoenicians. 

3. The Hebrews. 

4. The Greeks. 

5. The Romans. 

6. The German tribes conquering the Romans. 

7. The beginnings of England. 
VII. Tell about — 

1. The trade the people of Europe carried on with the far East 

for hundreds of years. 

2. Marco Polo and other travelers in the Orient. 

3. The Turks closing the old routes between Europe and the 

East. 

4. The new route which seemed the best after this to many 

of the merchants of Europe. 

5. Prince Henry of Portugal. 

VIII. Tell what most people thought about the ocean in those days. 
IX. Tell about the first voyages of the Portugese down the western 
coast of Africa. 
X. Describe the voyage of Vasco da Gama. 



CHAPTER II 

Columbus and the Discovery of America 

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, about four 
hundred and fifty years ago. From boyhood he was fond of the 
sea, and when he grew up he became captain of a ship that sailed 
on the Mediterranean sea. Sometimes he sailed out of the 
Mediterranean and made voyages to Iceland and down the 
western coast of Africa. He made maps and charts showing 
where he went, and other captains often bought them from him. 

At that time most people thought that the earth was flat. But 
several hundred years before Christ, a very wise man of Greece 
named Aristotle had proved that it was round, and many of the 
most learned men of Europe believed it. Columbus was one of 
the men who believed this. 

We have learned how the merchants of Europe for hundreds 
of years went to the far East for spices, silks, jewels, and drugs, 
and how the barbarous Turks finally stopped their going across 
Asia. 

Then while the Portuguese seamen were trying to find a new 
route by sailing around Africa, Columbus thought of another 
way. He believed that he could reach the Eastern part of Asia 
by sailing west across the Atlantic, and that it would be a much 
shorter way than by going around Africa. 

As he was too poor to buy ships himself, he tried first to 
persuade wealthy men in Italy to help him, and then asked the 
King of Portugal, but they all refused. He then went to Spain 

13 



14 



COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 



to tell his story there to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. 
They would not listen to him at first, but after a few years 
the Queen became interested in his plans, and persuaded the King 
to give him money enough for three small ships. 

Columbus was delighted and soon had the ships. They were 
called the Santa Maria, the Pint a, and the Nina. They were very 




DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS 

From a Painting by Balaca 



small ships to cross the great Atlantic ocean. The Santa Maria, 
the largest of the three, was only about ninety feet long. 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 

On August 3, 1492, Columbus sailed away with ninety men 
from Palos, Spain. 

The sailors expected to find land in a few days, but they 

sailed on day after day without seeing any. After awhile they 



COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 15 

became alarmed. Some of them were angry at Columbus for 
having taken them so far away from their homes, and several 
times they threatened to throw him overboard. He had a hard 
time quieting them. 

They sailed on for over two months. Then one day they saw 
a carved stick and some branches floating near the ships and they 
knew that land was not far off. That night Columbus saw lights 
off in the distance, and early the next morning one of the men 
sighted land. Everyone was delighted. 

The land which they saw was a beautiful island. Large trees 
and beautiful flowers were growing on it. But it was not part of 
Asia. It was an island where white people had never been 
before. 

They landed on October twelfth. As soon as they stepped 
ashore, they knelt and gave thanks to God for their safe voyage. 

Columbus called the island San Salvador* and claimed it for 
Spain. He thought it belonged to the East Indies and he called 
the natives Indians. 

The natives were dark-skinned. They had never seen white 
people before, and they thought that they had come down from 
the skies. They brought food and presents to them. 

Columbus and his sailors walked about and examined the 
island. Then they explored other islands that were near by. 

Columbus soon went back to Spain. He took some of the 
natives and some of the things that grew on the islands with him 
to show to the people in Europe. 

He was received with great honor when he reached Spain. 
Bells were rung and cannon were fired and hundreds of people 



* The island now called Watling Island is supposed to be the one Columbus called San 
Salvador. 



16 COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 

cheered him as he went along the streets. King Ferdinand and 
Queen Isabella invited him to their palace and listened to his 
story of the New World. 

He came three more times to the New World. The people 
on the islands gave him a great deal of trouble during these 
later visits, and after a time his health broke down. 

Queen Isabella, who was his best friend, died soon after his 
last voyage to America. By this time his money was nearly all 
gone and he was too old and weak to work any more. He died 
in 1506, old and poor, and neglected by everyone. 

Columbus never knew that the land he had discovered was 
part of a new continent. He always believed that it was part 
of Asia. 

I. Tell when and by whom America was discovered. 
II. Tell — 

1. Who Columbus was. 

2. When and where he was born. 

3. About his first voyages when he was a young man, 

4. What he believed he could do when he grew older. 

5. Why he wanted to do this. 

6. How he obtained ships for the voyage and what they were 

called. 

III. Tell about — 

1. The departure from Spain. 

2. The voyage across the Atlantic, 

3. The first signs of land and the discovery. 

IV. Describe — 

1. The island of San Salvador. 

2. The natives of the island. 
V. Tell of — 

1. Columbus' return to Spain. 

2. His later voyages to America. 

3. His last years and death. 

VI. Write a short sketch of Columbus in your own words. 



CHAPTER III 
The Indians 




AN INDIAN FAMILY 

Indians have reddish-brown skin, high cheek bones, black 
eyes, and straight black hair. 

2 17 



18 



THE INDIANS 



Many Indians are now living in the western part of our 
country, and they are found in nearly all parts of South America. 

At the time Columbus discovered the New World, they were 
living in all parts of North America. They were divided into 
tribes and each tribe had a chief at the head of it. Some of 
the tribes were peaceful but most of them were fierce and warlike. 

Alost of the Indians lived in wigwams, or tents, made of 
bark or the skins of animals. Some lived in villages of these 




A PUEBLO 

wigwams. Others moved about from place to place. They went 
up and down the rivers in canoes made of birch bark. 

In the southwestern part of the country, many of the Indians 
lived in large flat roofed houses made of adobe, or sun-baked 
clay. These houses were called pueblos. They were sometimes 
three or four stories high, and hundreds of Indians lived together 
in them. The upper stories were reached by means of ladders. 



THE INDIANS 19 

Some pueblos were built on the plains, and others were built 
on high cliffs. 

Many of the Indians lived by hunting and fishing. Others 
raised Indian corn, squash, pumpkins, beans, and tobacco. 

They had strange ways of cooking. Wooden bowls were 
filled with water and then heated stones were thrown in. When 
the water was hot enough, the food was put in to cook. Meat was 
broiled on sticks held over a fire. Corn was pounded into meal 
between two stones, and then the meal was mixed with water 
and baked in the ashes. 

Pieces of bone or sharp stones were used instead of knives. 

The Indians made fire by twirling the end of a stick against a 
larger piece of wood, or by striking flint stones and pieces of steel 
together. 

DRESS AND CUSTOMS 

The clothing of most of the Indians was made of the skins 
of animals. They wore whole skins over their bodies, and their 
moccasins, or shoes, were made of deerskin embroidered with 
porcupine quills and shell beads. 

The Indian warriors painted their faces red and yellow and 
blue. Then they tattooed their bodies and decorated themselves 
with feathers and shell beads. 

The squaws also liked to paint their faces, and they wore 
many strings of beads which they made from sea-shells. They 
called these strings of beads wampum. Wampum was also 
used instead of money among the Indians. 

The women did most of the hard work. They worked in the 
fields, put up and took down the tents, and kept house. The 
men hunted and went to war. 



20 



THE INDIANS 



The Indians' weapons were bows and arrows, hatchets, and 
war clubs. Their hatchets were called tomahawks. They often 
scalped people with them. 

Before a war the Indians would have a war-dance. They 
would decorate themselves with paint and feathers, and dance 
around a fire, leaping and yelling and waving their hatchets. 

The Indians were brave and would bear great pain without 
uttering a groan. But they were generally sly and cunning, and 
they were very cruel to their enemies. 

As the white people 
settled in America, they 
drove the Indians farther 
and farther west. Many of 
those now in the United 
States live on lands in the 
West which have been set 
apart for them by the 
government. These lands 
are called Indian Reserva- 
tions. 

Some of the Indians on 
the Reservations have good 
farms, large herds of cattle, 
and good schools. Others 
still live in pueblos. 

There are a number of 
pueblos in New Mexico and 
Arizona. The Navajo In- 
dians of Arizona and New 
Mexico are noted -for the 




WExWING A NAVAIO BLAX 



THE INDIANS 



21 



beautiful blankets they make, and all the tribes make attractive 
pottery and baskets. 




TONIAMAVWK 



1. Describe the Indians. 

2. Tell where they are found now. 

3. Tell what you can of their way of living at the time Columbus 

discovered America. 

4. Describe their dress and tell how they decorated themselves. 

5. Name some of the weapons that they used. 

6. Tell what some of their characteristics were. 

7. Tell what Indian Reservations are. 

8. Tell how the Indians live on these Reservations. 

9. Name some of the things the Indians make. 



CHAPTER IV 
Discoverers Following Columbus 

JOHN CABOT 

Columbus discovered a number of the islands of the West 
Indies and sailed to the coasts of Central America and South 
America, but he never landed on the mainland of North America. 

There was an Italian named John 
Cabot who was a great traveler. 
After having traveled about the 
world a great deal, he went to 
Bristol, England, and made his home 
there. 

After a time he heard of the 
voyages of Columbus, and he decided 
that he, too, would try to find a 
short way to Asia. 

Henry VII was king of England 
at that time, and Cabot persuaded 
him to fit out a vessel for him. 

In May, 1497, he sailed west, as 
Columbus had done, and in time he reached what is now called 




The Black Portions of the Map 
Show the Land that was Prob- 
ably Visited by the Cabots 



22 



DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 23 

Cape Breton, a part of Nova Scotia. This was on the mainland 
of North America, but Cabot supposed it was a part of Asia where 
no one lived. 

Cabot and his men landed and planted a large cross and 
hoisted the flags of England and Venice. Then Cabot took 
possession of the land in the name of the King of England. 

The next year, with his son Sebastian, he sailed west again. 
It is supposed that they sailed along part of the eastern coast 
but it is not known exactly what points they visited. At any rate 
they claimed all the land they saw for England and then returned. 

The English people took no interest in the Cabots' discoveries 
at that time, however, as they had found no gold in the new 
country, and they thought no more about them until a long time 
afterwards. 



AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 

An Italian merchant and traveler named Americus Vespucius 
made several voyages with men who were sent out to explore 
the new land. In 1499 one of these expeditions reached the 
northern coast of South America, and in 1501 another explored 
the eastern coast. 

Americus wrote in letters to his friends as if he were the leader 
of these expeditions and he gave interesting descriptions of the 
new lands he had found. His letters were printed and read by 
many of the learned men of Europe. 

Most people thought at that time that the land Columbus had 
found was part of Asia. And as many believed that Americus 



24 DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 

was the first to discover the new continent, it was named America 
for him rather than for Columbus. 



BALBOA 

Vasco Nunez Balboa was an Italian explorer. He lived for 
awhile on the island of Hayti, and then went to the mainland. One 
day, in 15 13, when he was exploring the isthmus of Panama, he 
reached the top of a high hill, and from there he beheld a great 
ocean spread out before him. This was the Pacific ocean. 

For some time the people in Europe had been doubting that 
the land Columbus had found was part of Asia, and when they 
heard of Balboa's discovery, they felt sure that it was another 
continent. 



PONCE DE LEON 

Ponce de Leon was a Spanish soldier who came with Colum- 
bus on his second voyage to America, and afterwards spent many 
years in the West Indies. 

When he became old and wrinkled, he wished very much 
that he was young again. 

There was a legend among the Indians which they believed 
and which they told to the white people. They said there was a 
fountain somewhere in the forests which would make old people 
who drank from it young again. They called it the " Fountain 
of Youth." 

Ponce de Leon heard of this fountain and set out to look for 
it. On Easter morning, in the year 15 13, he came to a beautiful 
shore he had never seen before. The land was filled with flowers 



DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 25 

and he called it Florida from the Spanish name " Pascua Florida," 
meaning " Flowery Easter." He thought this must be the place 
where he would find the wonderful fountain, and for several 
years he went about looking for it. 

In 1 52 1 he tried to start a settlement on the Florida coast, 
but was killed in a battle with the Indians. 



MAGELLAN 

After the people in Europe had decided that America was a 
newly found continent, they were anxious to find a way through 
it or around it to the East Indies. Many tried to do this. 

In 1 5 19 Spain sent out a Portuguese named Magellan with 
five ships. In 1520 Magellan discovered the strait which now 
bears his name, and sailed through it into the Pacific ocean. Four 
of his ships were lost, and he was killed by a native on one of the 
Philippine islands, but the fifth ship with eighteen men on it 
finally reached Spain. 

This was the first voyage ever made around the world. 



CORTEZ 

The Spanish explorers who went to Mexico found a powerful 
tribe there called the Aztecs. These Indians lived in large villages 
with great chiefs, or kings, ruHng over them. Their houses were 
built of stone or sun-baked bricks covered with white plaster. 
They worshiped idols and the temples which they built to them 
were often several stories high. The king of the Aztecs lived 
in great splendor in the City of Mexico. 



26 



DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 



The Spaniards heard stories of great riches among the Aztecs, 
and in 15 19, a Spanish soldier named Hernandez Cortez was sent 
to conquer Mexico. 

Cortez landed where the city of Vera Cruz is now and marched 
toward the City of Mexico. The Aztecs fought bravely, but after 
two years of hard fighting, Cortez was victorious. 

He rebuilt the City of Mexico and made it as much like a 
Spanish city as he could. 

Many more Spaniards came later to Mexico. Catholic priests 
built mission houses and gathered the Indians into villages around 




A SPANISH MISSION HOUSE 



them. They called these villages missions. The Indians were 
taught to build better houses, and many of them gave up their 
idols and became Christians. They learned the ways and the 
language of the Spaniards, and the missions became in time very 
much like the villages in Spain. After a time, as the Spaniards 
spread over the country, Spanish schools and churches and other 
public buildings were built in nearly all the towns of Mexico. 



DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 27 

VERRAZANO 

In the winter of 1524 Giovanni Verrazano was sent out by the 
French to discover a westward route to Asia. 

He crossed the Atlantic in a ship called the Dolphin, and in 
March he anchored near the point of land which we now call 
Cape Fear in North Carolina. He and his crew stopped for a 
few days and traded with the Indians. Then they sailed north- 
ward along the coast. They sailed as far north as Newfoundland 
and claimed all of the country for France. When they returned 
to France, Verrazano published an account of the land the}- had 
seen and called it New France. 



CARTIER 

In 1534 Francis I, the King of France, sent Jacques Cartier 
westward on an exploring expedition. 

Cartier set out in two ships and in time entered the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence. He took possession of all the land he saw in the 
name of the French King. 

The next year he made a second voyage and sailed up the St. 
Lawrence river. On the way up the river, he and his men found 
some Indians on the clififs where the city of Quebec is now. The 
Indians went out in canoes to meet them and took them to their 
village and danced for them. Later Cartier went on up the river 
as far as where the city of Montreal is now. Then after spending 
the winter on the St. Lawrence, he returned to France in the 

spring. 

In 1 541 he came with others and tried to build a settlement 
on the St. Lawrence. But many of the party were taken ill and 
the Indians were unfriendly, so they finally returned to France. 



28 DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 

The French people claimed all of the country along the St. 
Lawrence because of Cartier's discoveries, and later many of 
them came and settled along the river. 



DE SOTO 

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish soldier who was made 
governor of Cuba by the King of Spain. He heard that gold in 
great quantities was to be found on the mainland, and in 1539 he 
set out in search of it. 

More than six hundred men went with him. They landed on 
the coast of Florida, and from there they went first in a northerly 
direction and then westward. For three years they made their 
way across the country through dense forests and swamps. They 
were often in want of food and many of their horses starved 
to death. 

De Soto made slaves of many of the Indians they met and 
was cruel to them. In return other Indians attacked his party 
and several times there were battles between them. 

In 1 541 De Soto and his party came upon the great river 
which the Indians called the Mississippi. They crossed it and 
went into the country beyond, but they found no gold and finally 
gave up the search. 

When they reached the Mississippi on their return, De Soto 
decided to go down the river to the Gulf of Mexico. They 
started but on the way De Soto was taken ill and died. His men 
lowered his body into the river at midnight so that the Indians 
would not know of his death. 



DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 29 

FRIAR MARCOS AND CORONADO 

About the time that De Soto started on his journey in search 
of gold, another Spanish party started from Mexico to look for 
riches in the country west of the Mississippi. 

The Spaniards in Mexico understood from stories which the 
Indians had told them that there were seven cities of great wealth 
in the country to the north. So in 1539 the Spanish ruler of 
^lexico sent a missionary called Friar Marcos with some Indians 
to look for them. 

After long wanderings, the party finally came to seven 
villages, or pueblos, in which the Zuni Indians lived. These 
pueblos w^ere built of light stone and sun-dried brick. The first 
one they reached was called Cibola, and Friar Alarcos called 
them all the Seven Cities of Cibola. 

The white buildings shone in the sun and Friar Marcos 
imagined that they were much grander than they really were. 
When he returned to Mexico, he told wonderful stories about 
them, and finally a Spaniard named Francisco de Coronado was 
sent with an army of three hundred men to conquer them. 

The army set forth in 1540 expecting to find great riches. 
The Spaniards were mounted on horseback. They wore coats 
of bright armor and carried swords and lances. A great many 
negroes and Indians went along as servants. They carried the 
baggage and did other work for the Spaniards. 

The army went over the mountains in Mexico and then across 
the great plains of Arizona, and at last came upon the Seven 
Cities of Cibola. Coronado had expected them to be beautiful 



30 DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 

cities with great quantities of gold and silver, but he found only- 
poor Indian pueblos where the Indians raised corn and beans and 
wore clothing woven of the fibers of plants or made of the skins 
of animals. No gold or silver was to be found. 

From there Coronado and his men went eastward until they 
came to the valley of the Rio Grande. Here they found an Indian 
village and spent the winter in it. 

The next spring an Indian told Coronado of a wonderful city 
far to the northeast where the people ate from golden bowls. The 
Spaniards believed what the Indians said and set out again across 
the desert. 

They traveled for more than two months over hot, sandy 
plains. Sometimes they met great herds of buffaloes and some- 
times bands of Indians. Then in the end they came only to some 
small Indian villages where the Indians lived in wigwams made 
of grass or of bufifalo skins. These villages were in what is now 
central Kansas. 

Coronado and his men were greatly disappointed again. They 
started back to Mexico, and a year later those who were still 
living reached their homes. They were half-starved and dressed 
in the skins of animals. Their friends could hardly recognize the 
men who had gone away in their bright armor so gay and hope- 
ful two years before. 

Coronado's army had sufifered greatly, but good was to come 
from it. They told all about the country they had seen, and 
later others went to see it and settled in it. The country they 
passed through has since been made into the states of Arizona, 
New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. 



DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 



31 




THE OLDEST HOUSE IN THE UNITED STATES 
Si. Augustine, Florida 



MENENDEZ 

In 1565 a Spaniard 
named Pedro Menen- 
dez came to America 
and built a fort on 
the coast of Florida. 
In time a city grew 
Up around this fort 
and was called St. 
Augustine. This was 
the first city in 
America. 



I. Tell when and by whom the mainland of North America was 

discovered. 

II. Tell of Cabot's first voyage to the New W£)rld. 

III. Tell of his voyage the next year. 

IV. Tell how America got its name. 
V. Tell of Balboa's discovery. 

VI. Tell what you can about Ponce de Leon. 

VII. Give an account of the first voyage around the world. 

VIII. Give an account of Verrazano's voyage. 

iX. Tell of the conquest of Mexico by Cortez. 

X. Give an account of what Cartier did in the New World. 

XI. Tell about the discovery of the ]\Iississippi by De Soto. 

XII. Describe the wanderings of Friar Marcos and of Coronado in 
the country west of the Mississippi. 



32 DISCOVERERS FOLLOWING COLUMBUS 

XIII. Tell what the first city in America was and when and by whom 

it was founded. 

XIV. Give the dates for the following events — 

a. The discovery of the Pacific ocean by Balboa. 

b. The first voyage around the world. 

c. The discovery of the Mississippi by Ue Soto. 



CHAPTER V 



Sir Walter Raleigh 

When John Cabot discovered the mainland of North America, 
he claimed all of the country from Labrador to what is now 

South Carolina for England. 
None of the English people, how- 
ever, came to America to settle 
until about a hundred years later. 
Queen Elizabeth was queen 
of England at that time. 
News reached England that the 
Spaniards were finding gold in 
Mexico and in South America. 
Then the English people began 
^ to think of sending colonies to 
^\^ North America in the hope of 
:) ° finding gold there. 

The first Englishman who 
decided to do this was Walter 
Raleigh. 

Walter Raleigh was a great favorite of Queen Elizabeth's. 
He was a brave soldier and a very smart man, and he was also 
noted for his great courtesy. 

The Queen gave him a large tract of land on the Potomac 
river in America, and in 1584 he sent out an exploring 
party. 

3 33 




-<^ 






QUEEN ELIZABETH 



34 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 




There were two shiploads of people in this party. They 
landed on Roanoke Island near the coast of what is now 
North Carolina, and they thought it 
was a beautiful place with its fine 
trees and vines and flowers. 

When they went back to England, 
they gave glowing accounts of the 
things they had seen in the new 
country. Queen Elizabeth, who was 
called the Virgin Queen, was de- 
lighted to hear these good things and 
she named the land Virginia in 
honor of herself. She also knighted sir w^a.lter raleigh 
Raleigh so that after this he was called Sir Walter Raleigh. 

In 1585 Raleigh sent out a colony to settle in America. They 
landed on Roanoke Island and built a settlement there. Then 
they explored all of the country round about looking for gold, 
but did not find any. The Indians gave them a great deal of 
trouble, and it was hard sometimes to get enough food. Finally 
they grew discouraged and returned to England. 

These colonists took two plants which they had found in the 
New World back to England with them. They were the potato 
and tobacco. 

Smoking soon became very popular in England, and potatoes 
were planted in large quantities both in England and Ireland. 

A third colony was sent out bv Raleigh under a man named 
White. 

Soon after these colonists had settled in their new home, a 
baby was born. She was the first English child born in Virginia 
and was called Virginia Dare. 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 



35 



There were a good many people in this colony, but in a few 
years none of them could be found. It is probable that many of 
them died from the hardships they suffered, and that the others 
were killed or carried off by the Indians. 

After the death of Queen Elizabeth, the ruler of England 




COURTIERS IN THE TIME OF OUEEN ELIZABETH 



was King James the First. Some of Raleigh's enemies accused 
him of plotting against King James and of trying to make some 
one else ruler of England. The King had him put into prison and 
kept there for twelve years. Then he released him, but a few 
years later he had him beheaded. . 



I. 



IL 



Tell — 

1. Who Sir Walter Raleigh was. 

2. Why the English people began sending colonies to settle in 

America. 

3. What land Queen Elizabeth gave to Raleigh. 
Tell about — 



36 SIR WALTER RALEIGH 

L The first colony Raleigh sent to America. 

2. The account of the New World that these people took back- 

to England. 

3. The naming of Virginia. 

4. The second colony sent out by Raleigh; 

5. The introduction of potatoes and tobacco into England. 

6. Raleigh's third colony. 

7. Raleigh's last days. 

in. Write a short sketch of Sir Walter Raleigh in your own words. 



CHAPTER VI 



John Smith and the Founding of Virginia 

John Smith was born in England. When he grew up, he 
wanted to go out into the world and learn all he could about it, 

so he ran away from home. 
For awhile he was a sailor on 
the Mediterranean sea. Then he 
enlisted as a soldier and fought 
in several wars in foreign 
countries. He had many wild 
adventures. 

In 1606 some London mer- 
chants formed a company to send 
a colony to America. It was 
called the Virginia company. 
John Smith heard of this and 
decided to join the colonists. 
They set out on a stormy day 
in December in three ships called the Susan Constant, the Dis- 
covery, and the Godspeed. They were small vessels and went 
very slowly. It took about four months to reach Virginia. 

In April, 1607, the colonists sailed into Chesapeake bay and 
then up a river. The banks of the river were covered with 

37 




JOHN SMITH 

From Montgomery's Beginners' 

American History, 

by permission of Ginn & Co., publishers. 



38 JOHN SMITH AND THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA 



flowers and the people were delighted. They called it the James 
river in honor of King James of England. 

Finally they reached a good place to make their home. They 
landed and before long they had a little settlement there which 
they called Jamestown. 

There were many Indians in that 
part of the country, and they were not 
very friendly to the white people. 

The first year was a hard one for 
the Jamestown settlers. During the 
winter there was a great deal of sick- 
ness among them. They did not have 
food enough nor enough clothing to 
keep them warm. 

After awhile John Smith took con- 
trol of affairs, and things went better. 
When the people were sick, he helped 
take care of them. He went among 

the Indians and gave them beads and toys in exchange for corn, 
and in this way saved many of the people from starving. He 
made the men who were well and strong build good homes and 
plant corn, and after awhile the people were more com- 
fortable. 

Before long Smith was made the governor of Jamestown and 
the people were happy and prosperous under him. 

One day, after he had been governor for some time, he was 
badly injured by an explosion of gim-powder and had to go to 
England to be treated. 

He never went back to Jamestown, but in a few years he 
returned to America and explored parts of what is now New 




JOHN SMITH AND THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA 39 

England. He got furs from the Indians and made some good 
maps of the New England coast. 



POCAHONTAS 

Pocahontas was the daughter of an Indian chief named 
Powhatan. A pretty story is told of how she saved Smith's 
Hfe. 

One day Smith was captured by some Indians of Powhatan's 

tribe and they took him to 
their chief. 

Powhatan said that he 

must die. Then the Indians 

prepared everything for his 

death. They bound his arms 

and laid his head on a stone. 

One of the Indians had 

raised his club and was just 

about to strike him when 

Pocahontas ran forward, and 

throwing herself between 

them, bent down and laid her 

head on Smith's. The Indian 

did not dare to touch her, and 

so he had to drop his club. 

Pocahontas then begged 

her father to save Smith's life and Powhatan set him free for 

her sake. 

When Pocahontas grew up, she married a young Englishman 
in Jamestown whose name was John Rolfe. 




JOHN SMITH BEFORE POWHATAN 

From Montgomery's Beginners' 

American History, 

by permission of Ginn «£ Co., publishers. 



40 JOHN SMITH AND THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA 

Before the marriage she became a Christian and was baptized. 
She changed her name to Rebecca. 

She and her husband went to England. She was very popular 
there and was called the Indian Princess. 

She had a son born in England. A short time afterwards she 
made preparations to return to America, but was taken suddenly 
ill and died. 

Her son grew up in England and then came to America. Some 
of his descendants are living in Virginia now. 



LATER EVENTS 

In 1619 a Dutch ship brought nineteen negro slaves to Virginia 
and sold them to the planters. This was the beginning of slavery 
in this country. 

More slaves were brought, and in time slavery spread over 
nearly all of the colonies. In the North many of the slaves were 
house servants. In the South they worked on the plantations. 

After awhile the South had most of the slaves because the 
warm climate suited them better than the cold, and there was 
more for them to do in the South than there was in the 
North. 

The people in Virginia raised a great deal of tobacco on 
their plantations and sold much of it in England. Many of the 
planters became rich. 

In time many more people came from England and built towns 
in Virginia, and the colony became very prosperous. 

There was much trouble, however, with the Indians. They 
often attacked the white people and small wars broke out from 
time to time. 



JOHN SMITH AND THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA 



41 



In the frontier settlements the white people built block- 
houses for defense against the Indians. A blockhouse was 
something like a fort. Whenever the people suspected that the 




AN ATTACK ON A BLOCKHOUSE 

Indians were near a village 
in the night, a messenger 
would go from house to 
house and wake the people. 
Then they would all hurry to 
the blockhouse to be ready to 
fight. 



Tell about — 

1. John Smith as a young man. 

2. The forming of the Virginia company. 

3. The voyage across the Atlantic. 

4. The founding of Jamestown, 

5. The colonists' first year in Jamestown. 

6. Some of the things Smith did to help the colony. 

7. His accident. 

8. His return to England. 



42 JOHN SMITH AND THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA 

9. His second trip to America. 

10. The rescue of Smith by Pocahontas. 

11. Pocahontas's marriage and visit to England. 

12. The introduction of slaves into America and the spread of slavery 

throughout the colonies. 

13. The prosperity of the Virginia planters. 

14. The trouble with the Indians. 



CHAPTER VII 



Henry Hudson and the Founding of New York 

DISCOVERY OF THE HUDSON RIVER 

Henry Hudson was an Englishman who hved in London. He 
was a fine sea captain and a great traveler. 

The Dutch people wanted some one to find a short way to 
Asia for them. They had heard of some of Hudson's voyages 

and they employed him to try 
to find it. 

Hudson sailed from Am- 
sterdam, Holland, with several 
other men in 1609 i^ ^ small 
vessel called the Half INIoon. 

After sailing in the north- 
ern seas for some time, he 
turned his boat southward. 
He had a map of the coast of 
North America which John 
Smith had sent him, and he 
decided to go there. 

He and his men went 
south as far as Chesapeake 
bay, and then north along the 

THE HALF MOON COast 

One day they entered a beautiful harbor. Ir was what is now 
called New York bay. Indians dressed in furs and decorated 

43 




44 HENRY HUDSON AND THE FOUNDING OF NEW YORK 

with feathers watched them with wonder from the shores for 
they had never seen white men before. 

A large river ran into the bay, and Hudson and his men 
sailed up this river. It was afterwards called the Hudson. The 
country all around was very beautiful. There were many flowers 
and fine trees along the banks. The men thought the long wall 
of rock, which extends along one side of the river, and which 
we now call the Palisades, was a wonderful sight. 

As the white men went up this river, canoes filled with Indians 
followed them. Most of the Indians were friendly, and some 
of them traded with the sailors. They gave them corn and beans 
in exchange for beads and other ornaments. 

Hudson and his crew sailed a hundred and fifty miles up the 
river and claimed all the country round about for Holland. Then 
they returned to Holland and told the Dutch people of all the 
things they had seen in the new country. 



FOUNDING OF NEW YORK 

The next year the Dutch people sent men to America to trade 
with the Indians for furs. 

They built a trading post on the end of Manhattan island at 
the mouth of the Hudson river. The trading post consisted of a 
fort and some log cabins. In time a town grew up around this 
fort, and it was called New Amsterdam. 

The people explored the land for miles around and claimed 
all of it for Holland. They called it New Netherlands. 

After a time, however, the English claimed that part of 
America because John Cabot had discovered it in 1498, and in 
1664 they took it away from the Dutch. 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE FOUNDING OF NEW YORK 45 



King Charles the Second was king of England at that time. 
He gave New Netherlands to his brother who was called the 
Duke of York. The name of New Netherlands was then changed 
to New York in his honor, and New Amsterdam was called 
New York city. 

New York city grew 
until it became what it 
is now, — one of the 
largest and most im- 
portant cities in the 
world. 

Henry Hudson came 
back to America a 
second time in an Eng- 
lish ship and discovered 
Hudson bay. The sailors 
who were with him suf- 
fered a great deal from 
cold and hunger, and 
they were angry with 
him for having taken 
them there. One day 
they set him adrift in A scene in new Amsterdam 

a small boat, and sailed away leaving him there on the big 
bay. No one ever heard of him again. 




FOUNDING OF NEW JERSEY 

The Duke of York granted part of his land to two of his 
friends named Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, and 
they called it New Jersey. 



46 HENRY HUDSON AND THE FOUNDING OF NEW YORK 

There were several settlements of Dutch people and Swedes 
on this land when the English took possession of it. 

The people in New Jersey were allowed to worship God in 
their own way. Many people who were persecuted in England 
and Scotland on account of their religion went there to live. 



I. Tell — 

1. Who Henry Hudson was. 

2. What the Dutch people wanted him to do. 
n. Tell about — 

1. Hudson's departure from Holland. 

2. The ocean voyage. 

3. The discovery of New York bay and the Hudson river. 

4. The trip up the river. 

5. The founding of New Amsterdam. 

6. The taking of New Netherlands fron> the Dutch by the 

English and the change of name. 

7. Hudson's discovery of Hudson bay. 

8. The way he was treated by his crew. 

9. The founding of New Jersey. 
10. The settlers in New Jersey. 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Pilgrims and the Founding of 
Massachusetts 

THE COMING OF THE PILGRIMS 

King James the First of England thought that every one in 
England should belong to the same church that he did. 

Some people who lived in the northern part of England did 
not like so much ceremony in the church service as the Church 
of England had. They wanted a simpler service and they started 
a church of their own. 

King James did not like this and he persecuted many of the 
people who attended the new church. Some of them were even 
sent to prison. 

The Dutch people were willing for them to have any kind of 
church they wanted in Holland, so a number of them left England 
and went to Holland to live. 

They called themselves Pilgrims because they had wandered 
away from their old homes. 

Captain Myles Standish was an English soldier. He was in 
Holland at the time the Pilgrims went there, and he liked their 
church and their simple ways so much that he made his home 
among them. 

For awhile the Pilgrims were happy in Holland. Then they 
found out that their children were becoming more like the Dutch 
people than the English in many ways and they did not like it. 

47 



48 THE PILGRIMS AND THE FOUNDING OF MASSACHUSETTS 



Some of them decided to come to America and build new 
homes. 

They started in 1620. They stopped at Plymouth, England, 
on their way and then about one hundred of them left for 
America in a vessel called the Mayflower. Myles Standish came 
with them. 



They had a stormy voyage. 










The boat was tossed about by 
wind and waves, and they 
were on the ocean about three 
months. 

At last they sailed into 
Cape Cod bay. It was De- 
cember, and it was very cold. 
The ground was covered with 
snow. 

An exploring party was 
sent out to look for a place 
for their new home, and they 
found a very good one. Part 
of the ground had been cleared of trees by Indians who had been 
there at one time, and there was a good stream of water running 
through the land. 

Before they landed, the Pilgrims chose John Carver for their 
first governor, and they made a charter for themselves in which 
they agreed to live in peace and' to be obedient to all laws made 
for the good of the colony. 

On the twenty-first of December, they landed on a big rock 
which has since been called Plymouth Rock. It was bitterly cold 
and snowing hard. But in a day or two the men set to work 



k-ri-rt^mlirr r 




THE PILGRIMS AND THE FOUNDING OF MASSACHUSETTS 49 




THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS 

cutting down trees, and soon had log cabins built for their new 
homes. The new settlement was called Plymouth. 



THE pilgrims' FIRST YEAR IN AMERICA 

The Pilgrims suffered a great deal from the cold during their 
first w^inter in Plymouth, and they did not have food or clothing 
enough. Many fell sick and about half of them died before the 
warm weather came. 

Captain Standish and Governor Carver worked day and night 
nursing the sick and doing all they could for them, but there 
were many they could not save. 

In the spring some friendly Indians came to visit the Pilgrims. 
One of them was named Squanto. He could speak a little English 
which he had learned from some English sailors. He liked the 
Pilgrims and lived with them a long time. He taught them 
many things which they did not know about the new land they 
were living in. 
4 



50 THE PILGRIMS AND THE FOUNDING OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Massasoit was an Indian chief who was also very friendly to 
the Pilgrims. He and the governor of Plymouth made a treaty. 
They swore that the Indians of Massasoit's tribe and the Pilgrims 
should always be friends. This promise was kept for fifty years. 

Other Indians, however, troubled the white people. Captain 
Standish heard that some of them w^ere killing white settlers in 
other places, and so he got ready in case they should come to 




PILGRIMS GOING TO CHURCH 

Plymouth. He trained the Plymouth men to fight well and they 
watched day and night for the Indians. They even carried their 
guns to church. 

The Pilgrims planted corn in the spring and made their homes 
more comfortable. 

When autumn came, they had a fine harvest. They felt thank- 
ful to God for all their blessings and decided to set aside a day 
for giving thanks. 



THE PILGRIMS AND THE FOUNDING OF MASSACHUSETTS 51 

They invited Massasoit and some other Indians to spend the 
day with them. They went to church in the morning and then 
had a big dinner. Turkey and venison and pumpkin pie were 
some of the good things they had. In the afternoon they played 
games, and in the evening they danced and sang songs. 

This was the first Thanksgiving day. It was on November 
2^, 162 1. 

After awhile more Pilgrims came to Plymouth from Holland 
and England and made their homes in this little town. 

Captain Standish helped the Pilgrims in many ways and was 
much loved by them. 

He lived to be over seventy years of age. During the last part 
of his life, he had a home on a hill near Plymouth. This hill 
was called " Captain's Hill." There is now a high monument 
there with a statue of the good Captain on it. 



I. Tell — 

1. Who the Pilgrims were. 

2. Why they left England. 

3. How they happened to go to Holland. 

4. Why they decided to come to America. 

5. Who Myles Standish was. 

6. How he happened to join the Pilgrims. 
II. Tell about — 

1. The departure of the Pilgrims from the old country. 

2. The voyage. 

3. The finding of land. 

4. The place they chose for their future home. 

5. The landing of the Pilgrims and the founding of Plymouth. 

6. The Pilgrims' first winter in Plymouth. 

7. Visits made by friendly Indians in the spring. 

8. The treaty made between jNIassasoit and Governor Carver. 



52 THE PILGRIMS AND THE FOUNDING OF MASSACHUSETTS 

9. Standish's preparation for unfriendly Indians whom he 

feared might come from other places, 

10. The first Thanksgiving day. 

11. The growth of Plymouth. 

III. Write a short sketch of Myles Standish. 



CHAPTER IX 

The Puritans and Other Settlers in New 
England 

FOUNDING OF MASSACHUSETTS 

There were many English people in the Church of England 
who did not like all of its ceremony, but who did not want to 
separate from it as the Pilgrims had done. They wanted to 



^-^ 




SOME OF THE EARLY HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND 

Stay in it and change some of the service. They were called 
Puritans. 

In time the Puritans were persecuted as the Pilgrims had 
been, and many of them decided to come to America. 

53 



54 THE PURITANS AND OTHER SETTLERS IN NEW ENGLAND 

In 1628 they formed a company which they called the Massa- 
chusetts company. A settlement was made by this company at 
Salem in 1628, and the next year more people joined it. John 
Endicott was governor of this settlement. 

In 1630 a new governor named John Winthrop came with a 
thousand people and a charter for the Massachusetts colony. He 
was made governor of all the Massachusetts settlements. Gover- 
nor Winthrop and the people who had come with him founded 
the city of Boston. 

During the next ten years, many more people from England 
joined the Massachusetts colony. 

The Puritans had almost as much trouble as the Pilgrims 
had when they first came to America. It was hard to get food 
enough ; there were quarrels over religion ; and there were fights 
with the Indians. During the first two years, a large number 
died of hardships and sickness, but after that the colony began 
to prosper. 



FOUNDING OF CONNECTICUT 

A few years after the Massachusetts colony was started, some 
of the Puritans became dissatisfied with the Massachusetts laws, 
and they left Alassachusetts and settled in other places. 

In 1635 some of them built a village on the Connecticut river 
and called it Windsor. They found a Dutch trading post not 
far from them. It was where the city of Hartford is now. 

Later more people went from Massachusetts and settled at 
Hartford and Wethersfield, and these places formed the beginning 
of the Connecticut colony. 



THE PURITANS AND OTHER SETTLERS IN NEW ENGLAND 55 
FOUNDING OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE 

In 1623 some people came from England and settled along 
Massachusetts bay north of Plymouth. Others went farther 
north and built the first villages of New Hampshire and Maine. 

The people in these northern villages made their living chiefly 
by fishing and trading with the Indians. 

Later some people went from the Massachusetts colony to the 
New Hampshire villages, and others came from England. 

For awhile New Hampshire was united with Massachusetts, 
but in 1 741 it became an independent colony. 



L Tell — 

1. Who the Puritans were. 

2. Why they decided to come to America. 

3. What the Massachusetts company was. 
II. Tell about — 

1. The first settlement made by the Puritans in America. 

2. Governor Winthrop and the founding of Boston. 

3. The growth of the ^Massachusetts colony. 

4. The troubles that the Puritans had. 

5. The founding of Connecticut. 

6. The founding of New Hampshire and Maine. 

7. The occupations of the people in New Hampshire and 

Maine. 



CHAPTER X 



Roger Williams and the Founding of Rhode 

Island 

Roger Williams was a young minister of Salem, Massa- 
chusetts. 

He met a number of Indians while he was preaching at 
Plymouth and Salem, and made many friends among them. He 

learned their language and visited 
them in their wigwams. 

Massasoit, the chief of the 
Wampanoag Indians, and Can- 
onicus, chief of the Narragansetts, 
were both fond of him. 

Roger Williams did not like 
some of the laws of Massa- 
chusetts. He thought the people 
should have more religious free- 
dom than they had, and he thought 
that the English people should pay 
the Indians for all the land which 
they took from them. 

Pie talked and wrote about 
these things a great deal. The people who governed Massa- 
chusetts did not like it. They tried to stop him but they could 
not. Finally they banished him from the colony. 

Williams decided to go to Massasoit and ask for help. 

56 




ROGER WILLIAMS' CHURCH IN 
SALEM 



THE FOUNDING OF RHODE ISLAND. $7 

Massasoit lived about eighty miles from Salem. There were 
no roads leading there and the ground was covered with a deep 
snow. Day after day Williams waded through the snow, and at 
night he slept in hollow trees or on boughs which he spread on 
the ground. 

After having suffered a great deal from cold and hunger, he 
at last reached Massasoit's wigwam. Massasoit received him 
very kindly, and made him stay with him until the spring. 

This was the spring of 1636. Williams and a few Indians 
took canoes and paddled down the Seekonk river looking for a 
place to settle. 

The place where they finally landed happened to belong to 
the Indian chief Canonicus. When Canonicus heard that Wil- 
liams liked that part- of the country, he gave him a large tract 
of land there. 

Williams started a settlement and called it Providence. He 
allowed people of all religions to live there, and Jews and 
Catholics went as well as Protestants. 

People soon built other villages near Providence, and this 
was the beginning of Rhode Island. 



Tell — 

1. When and by whom Providence, Rhode Island, was founded. 

2. Why the Indians loved Roger Williams. 

3. What Indian chiefs were friends of his, 

4. Why he was banished from the Massachusetts colony, 

5. Of his journey to Massasoit's camp. 

6. How he was received by Massasoit, 

7. About the Providence settlement. 



CHAPTER XI 

Lord Baltimore and the Founding of 
Maryland 

THE SETTLEMENT IN NEWFOUNDLAND 

Lord Baltimore was an Englishman. He was brought up 
a Protestant but became a Catholic. 

For awhile Catholics were treated cruelly in England. Lord 
Baltimore wished to do something for the oppressed people and 
he decided to make a home for them in some other place. 

He first tried to plant a Catholic colony in Newfoundland. 
But it was very cold there most of the year, and the soil was so 
poor that things could not grow well. Then the French attacked 
the settlers. The colony did not succeed and Lord Baltimore 
had to give up all idea of staying there. In a few months he 
returned to England. 

Charles the First was then King of England. He was a friend 
of Lord Baltimore's and he gave him a large tract of land in 
America on the Potomac river. He said he would allow Lord 
Baltimore to govern the people who went there in his own way. 

For this land Lord Baltimore was to pay the King two Indian 
arrows every year as a sign that the King was the real owner 
of the land. 

The land was called Maryland in honor of Queen Mary who 
was a Catholic. 

58 



LORD BALTIMORE AND THE FOUNDING OF MARYLAND 59 

But before Lord Baltimore could get ready to come to 
America, he died. His eldest son was then called Lord Baltimore, 
and Maryland was granted to him. 



THE FOUNDING OF MARYLAND 

In November, 1633, the second Lord Baltimore sent a party 
Df emigrants to settle in Maryland. There were about twenty 




Frojii Painting by Leittce 
LANDING OF LORD BALTIMORE 



gentlemen of leisure and three hundred working men in the party. 
They came in two vessels called the Ark and the Dove. 

In the spring of 1634 they reached an island in the mouth of 
the Potomac river. When they landed, the priests set up a cross, 



60 LORD BALTIMORE AND THE FOUNDING OF MARYLAND 

and then all of the party knelt around it and thanked God for 
having brought them safely to the new country. 

Later they settled at an Indian village which they called St. 
Mary's. They gave the Indians hatchets, hoes, knives, and cloth 
in exchange for land for their new homes. 

The Indians and the white people w^ere very friendly, and for 
a time they lived in the same village, the white people occupying 
half of it and the Indians the other half. 

The Indians gave a large wigwam to one of the priests who 
was called Father White and he made a Catholic church of it. 
This was the first Catholic church in America. 

After awhile more people came to Maryland. There were 
both Protestants and Catholics among the settlers and everyone 
was allowed to worship God in his own way. 

For a few years there were quarrels with the people of 
Virginia over the land and later there were disputes over religion, 
but in time these troubles ceased. Many of the people became 
owners of large plantations and ^laryland prospered. 



L Tell — 

1. About the first Lord Baltimore's colony in Newfoundland. 

2. What land was given to him by Charles I and what it was 

called. 

3. How he was to govern the people in Maryland and what he 

was to give every year for the land. 

4. What happened to him and who succeeded him. 
II. Tell about — 

L The party which the second Lord Baltimore sent to Mary- 
land. 
2. Their landing. 



LORD BALTIMORE AND THE FOUNDING OF MARYLAND 61 

3. The place where they settled and the way they obtained 

land for their new homes. 

4. Their friendliness with the Indians. 

5. The first Catholic church in America. 

6. The troubles that arose. 

7. The later prosperity. 



CHAPTER XII 



' • A I'/if G IN I A«~^ 



The Founders of North Carolina and South 

Carolina 

About thirty years after Maryland was founded, Charles II 
became King of England. He granted a large tract of land in 
America to eight of his friends. He took it from the southern 
part of \^irginia and called it Carolina. 

The eight proprietors soon sent a party of English people to 
make a settlement in Carolina. When they arrived there, they 

found some Virginians al- 
ready living on part of the 
land. Then during the next 
few years a number of people 
from Scotland, Germany, and 
France came and settled in 
Carolina. 

The French people were 
French Protestants who had 
been persecuted in France. 
They were called Huguenots. 
The Carolina colony had 
rather a hard time at first, but after awhile some of the people 
began to raise rice and this made them more prosperous. 

The proprietors of Carolina, who lived in England, were 
selfish men and did not rule the people kindly. In 1719 some of 
the people rebelled, and in 1729 the King bought the land from 

62 




FOUNDERS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA 63 

the proprietors and took control of it. He separated it into North 
Carolina and South Carolina and appointed governors for the 
two colonies. 



Tell — 

1. What Charles II gave to eight of his friends and what colony 

they started. 

2. What people settled in Carolina. 

3. How they got along in the new colony. 

4. About the proprietors of Carolina. 

5. How the government was changed and how the colony was 

divided. 



CHAPTER XIII 

William Penn and the Founding of 
Pennsylvania 




WM. PENN WITH THE INDIANS 

From Montgomery's Beginners' American History, 
by permission of Ginn & Co., publishers. 

PENN AS A YOUNG MAN 

William Penn was the founder of Pennsylvania. He was born 
in England in 1664. 

64 



WILLIAM PENN AND THE FOUNDING OF PENNSYLVANIA 65 

While he was at college in Oxford, he became interested in the 
Society of Quakers. Quakers thought that all men should love 
one another. They believed that war was wicked and they would 
not be soldiers for the King. They also believed that all people 
were equal and that no man should show honor to another. 

The Quakers were treated cruelly in England. Sometimes 
they were whipped and sometimes thrown into dark damp prisons. 
Many of them died in these prisons. 

William Penn believed that the Quakers were right and finally 
joined their Society. 

His father, who was an admiral in the British navy, was very 
sorry to have this happen. He wanted William to become a great 
man in England. 

Before long William was arrested and sent to prison for 
attending the Quaker meetings. His father had him set free, 
but soon he began to preach and was arrested again. This time 
he was kept in the Tower of London for eight months. Soon 
after this his father died. 

Penn kept on preaching from time to time and was sent to 
prison a number of times, but his father's friends always had 
him set free. 

FOUNDING OF PENNSYLVANIA 

King Charles H spent a great deal of money in having good 
times, and he often went in debt. He had borrowed large sums 
of money from William Penn's father, and after the Admiral's 
death, he owed this money to William. 

Penn wanted some land in America where the Quakers might 
settle and have peace, and he asked the King to give him land 
there instead of the money that he owed him. 
5 



66i WILLIAM PENN AND THE FOUNDING OF PENNSYLVANIA 

The King was very glad to do this. He gave him a large 
tract of land on the Delaware river, and called it Pennsylvania 
in honor of Penn's father. 

In April, 1681, Penn sent a party of Quakers to Pennsylvania 
to settle there, and the next year he set out himself with about 
one hundred more. 

Penn's party had a very hard voyage, but finally they reached 
America and sailed up the Delaware river. 

There were a few villages of white people on the banks of 
the river. Penn landed at several places. He told the people 
that he intended to found a state where the people would rule 
themselves and be happy. This pleased them very much. 

Penn sailed up the river about a hundred miles and then 
landed. He laid out a city and called it Philadelphia. The word 
" Philadelphia " means '' brotherly love." Penn wanted all the 
people there to love one another. 

He made friends with the Indians, and before long he made 
a treaty with them. A number of the Indians and white men met 
under a large elm tree near Philadelphia, and swore that they 
would be friends as long as the rivers should flow or the sun 
shine in the sky. For sixty years this treaty was kept between 
the white and red men in Pennsylvania. 

Many more people came from England, Germany, Ireland, 
the white and the red men in Pennsylvania. 

A tract of land which belonged to the Duke of York was 
added to Pennsylvania and was part of this province for a 
number of years. Later it was taken from Pennsylvania and 
became the colony of Delaware. 

Pennsylvania grew very rapidly. The people there were 
happy. Penn allowed them to attend any church they liked. He 



WILLIAM PENN AND THE FOUNDING OF PENNSYLVANIA 67 

let them govern themselves, and he sold them small farms for 
very little money so that the poor people might have their own 
homes as well as those who were better off. 

Penn finally returned to England and spent the last years of 
his life there. He died in 1718. 



I. Tell all you can about — 

1. Quakers. 

2. Their treatment in England at the time William Penn was 

a young man. 

3. William Penn's father. 

4. Penn becoming a Quaker. 

5. The times he was arrested. 
II. Tell — 

1. Why Charles II owed money to William Penn. 

2. What Penn asked for instead of the money. 

3. Why he wanted this land. 

4. Where the land was that King Charles gave him. 

III. Tell about — 

1. The first colony that Penn sent to Pennsylvania. 

2. His voyage to Pennsylvania the next year. 

3. The trip up the Delaware. 

4. The founding of Philadelphia. 

5. Penn's treaty with the Indians. 

6. Other settlers in Pennsylvania. 

. 7. The things Penn did to make the people in Pennsylvania 
happy and contented. 

IV. Write a short sketch of William Penn in your own words. 



CHAPTER XIV 



James Oglethorpe and the Founding of 
Georgia 

Georgia was founded by an Englishman named James Ogle- 
thorpe. 

When he was a young man, he was an officer in the British 
army. He was a man of great courage and kindness of heart, 

and he was loved and admired by all 
who knew him. 

After leaving the army, he was a 
member of the English parliament for 
thirty-two years. 

At that time people in England who 
could not pay their debts were sent to 
prison and treated cruelly there. 

General Oglethorpe visited some of 
these poor people in prison and wanted 
to help them. He thought that it would 

JAMES OGLETHORPE ^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^j^^^ -^ 

America where they might go and get a fresh start in life, and 
where others who were persecuted on account of their religion 
might also go. 

He asked King George the Second, who was then King of 
England, for some land for this purpose, and the King gave him 
a large tract of land between Carolina and Florida. 

58 




JAMES OGLETHORPE AND THE FOUNDING OF GEORGIA 69 

General Oglethorpe called this land Georgia in honor of the 
King. 

In the winter of 1732 he left England for Georgia with 
thirty-two families. 

Early in the spring of 1733 they reached the mouth of the 
Savannah river. They sailed up thejriver for about twenty miles 
and then landed. They bought some land from the Indians for 
their new settlement, and then laid out a town with broad streets 
and a public square and called it Savannah. 

General Oglethorpe was kind to the Indians and they always 
felt friendly toward him. He was also kind to the negroes who 
came to Georgia. He never allowed slaves to be bought and 
sold there while he was governor. 

LATER EVENTS 

After a time some Germans and some Scotch Highlanders 
came to Georgia and built settlements there, and later some 
people came from New England. 

After the people had built a number of small towns in Georgia, 
troubles arose with the Spanish colony of Florida. 

The Spaniards claimed that they owned the land where 
Georgia was, and attacked the settlers. But General Oglethorpe 
soon put an end to the trouble. He marched against the Spaniards 
with about a thousand men and in a short time defeated them. 

Many of the people of Georgia cleared the land and made 
farms for themselves. Some began the manufacture of silk. 
They planted mulberry trees for silkworms and brought a great 
many silkworms from Spain. But it did not pay very well to 
make silk in Georgia, and in time it was given up. 



70 JAMES OGLETHORPE AND THE FOUNDING OF GEORGIA 

General Oglethorpe did all he could to make the Georgia 
colony a happy one, and when he went back to England in 1743, 
he took with him the grateful love of the colonists. 

A few years after General Oglethorpe had returned to Eng- 
land, slaves were brought into Georgia, and a great deal of rice 
and indigo was raised on the plantations. 

Georgia made the thirteenth colony that was planted in 
America by the English people. Besides the English people, how- 
ever, there were thousands of Germans, French, Dutch, Scotch, 
and Irish who had also come and settled in these colonies. 

The thirteen original colonies were V^irginia, Massachusetts, 
New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Con- 
necticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia. 



I. Tell about — 

1. General Oglethorpe's life in England before he came to 

America. 

2. The way debtors were treated in England at that time. 

3. General Oglethorpe's plan to help them and others who were 

in trouble. 

4. The land that was given to him by King George II. 

5. The founding of Savannah. 

6. General Oglethorpe's treatment of the Indians and negroes. 

7. Other settlers in Georgia. 

8. The trouble with the Spaniards of Florida and General 

Oglethorpe's victory. 

9. The manufacture of silk in Georgia. 

10. The bringing of slaves into Georgia. 
II. Tell what you think of General Oglethorpe. 

III. 1. Name the thirteen original colonies. 

2. Tell what people besides the English settled in these colonies. 



CHAPTER XV 
Life of the Early Colonists 

THEIR HOMES 

]\Iany of the earliest settlers in America built rough log 
cabins for their homes. There were large fireplaces in the cabins. 
Sand was strewn on the ground for floors and oiled paper was 



^ ^^^^^^^^^ISkk '^^ 


\ 


4 


,!»! 


1% ^ ' 


r , iSii^nM 


... .-| 


'^ \ '■■■■■' ''^^^H|EB|f~ 


''3 --- '""' 



AN OLD COLONIAL KITCHEN 

used in the windows instead of glass. The furniture was very 
plain and there was not much of it. Wooden plates were used 
on the table. 

71 



72 LIFE OF THE EARLY COLONISTS 

Later the richer people were more comfortable. Some of 
them had their homes built of boards, and some had furniture and 
dishes sent to them from the old country. 

The people cooked in pots and kettles hung over the fire in 
the fireplaces, and roasted their meat on spits. A spit was an 
affair of iron which was turned round while the meat was 
cooking. 

The schools were very poor in those early days. The boys 
and girls did not learn much in them. Most of them learned 
only to read and write and do a little arithmetic. 



OCCUPATIONS 

Many of the colonists had hoped to find gold, but as there 
was none, they had to go to work to make their living. 

Some people in the Southern colonies tried to raise silkworms 
and make silk. But they could not make much money by doing 
this and they had to give it up. Then they began farming and 
were more successful. 

Corn was raised in all of the Southern colonies. In Virginia 
and Maryland the people raised large crops of tobacco. A 
great deal of it was shipped to England. In South Carolina and 
Georgia there were many plantations of rice and indigo, but in 
time cotton took the place of these two crops on most of the 
plantations. 

The people in the Middle colonies raised a great deal of 
wheat and shipped large quantities of flour to other countries. 

Thousands of cattle and hogs were raised in both the Southern 
and Middle colonies. 



LIFE OF THE EARLY COLONISTS 



73 



There was not much farming in New England on account of 
the cold weather and poor soil there. Most of the people in that 
part of the country made their living by fishing and building 
ships. 



PUNISHMENTS IN THE COLONIES 

The colonists were very strict. They tried to punish every- 
one who did wrong of any kind. People who swore or told lies 
were punished as well as those who stole. 

There were some queer kinds of punishments. Women who 
scolded or gossiped were 
put on ducking stools 
and dipped into water. 
Sometimes people 
were put into stocks and 
into the pillory. The 
stocks were boards with 
holes in them for the feet 
to be put through. The 
person w^ho w^as being 
punished had to sit on 
the street with his feet 
sticking through the 
holes while people passed by and laughed at him. The pillory 
was also made of boards with holes in them. The wrong-doer 
had to put his head and hands through these holes and stand 
that way for hours at a time. 

People who swore had their tongues put into split sticks and 
pinched, and sometimes people were whipped. 




THE STOCKS 



74 



LIFE OF THE EARLY COLONISTS 



For committing crimes, people were sometimes burned alive 
and sometimes hanged. 




THE PILLORY 

Many persons in those days were superstitious. They believed 
that some people did harm to others by working charms and 
they called these people witches. In New England a number of 
people who were called witches were put to death. 

This superstition, however, did not last long, and in time 
the people felt ashamed for ever having believed in such foolish 
things. 



LIFE OF THE EARLY COLONISTS 75 

1. Describe — 

a. The homes of the early colonists. 

b. Their way of cooking. 

c. Their schools. 

2. Tell of the occupations in-- 
o. The Southern colonies. 

b. The Middle colonies. i 

c. The New England colonies. j 

3. Tell of the punishments given by the colonists to wrong-doers. j 

4. Tell about the people who were called witches in New England. | 



CHAPTER XVI 

Indian Wars 

When the colonists first came to America, nearly all of the 
Indians seemed to be friendly, but after awhile quarrels arose 
and then there were wars. 

The Indians made many attacks upon the white people. They 
had a horrid way of making these attacks. They would creep 
up silently in the night to the homes of the people when they 
were asleep, and then they would kill and scalp many of them, 
burn their homes, and carry off women and children as captives. 
Then the colonists would band together, follow the Indians, and 
make war upon them. 

There w^ere a number of dreadful wars between the Indian 
tribes and the colonists. 

One of the worst was the Pequot war in Connecticut. The 
Indians of the Pequot tribe started this war by capturing many 
of the settlers in Connecticut and torturing them to death. Then 
a company of Connecticut and Massachusetts men, led by a 
soldier named John Mason, marched to the village of the Pequot 
chief and killed about six hundred of the Indians and burned 
their village. A war followed in which the Pequots were con- 
quered, and for some time afterwards New England had peace. 

King Philip's War was another terrible Indian war. Philip 
was the son of the Indian chief Massasoit who had been a friend 
of the early settlers. Philip, however, thought the white people 
were taking too much land from the Indians, and he was deter- 

76 



INDIAN WARS 77 

mined to destroy them. He persuaded most of the Indians in 
New England to join him in a war against them. The Indians 
burned many of the New England towns, killed hundreds of the 
people, and made many captives. The colonists formed com- 
panies and followed the Indians into their country. A number 
of battles were fought. Finally the colonists were victorious and 
the Indians in that part of the country were completely conquered. 
Captain Benjamin Church was one of the leaders of the white 
men. One day his men found Philip and a few of his friends in 
a swamp, and they surrounded them and killed them. 

There wxre Indian wars in all of the colonies, but generally 
the colonists succeeded in conquering the Indians, and in time 
most of the tribes were subdued. 



1. Tell of the change that took place among the Indians after th' 

colonists had been in America for some time. 

2, Give an account of the Pequot war. 

3, Tell about King Philip's war. 

4. Describe the Indians' usual way of attacking a village. 



CHAPTER XVII 

The French in America 

Long after Jacques Cartier* had discovered the St. Lawrence 
river, another Frenchman named Champlain came to America 
and founded the city of Quebec in 1608. 

Other Frenchmen followed and explored unknown parts of 
the country. Joliet and a priest, called Father Marquette, dis- 




A FRENCH MISSIONARY 



covered the northern part of the Mississippi. A few years later, 
La Salle discovered the Ohio river and went down the Mississippi 
to its mouth. 

The French people claimed all of the country west of the 
Alleghany mountains. They sent missionaries among the Indians, 

• See Jacques Cartier, pag^e 27 
78 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 79 

and made friends with them. Trading posts were built by them 
along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. 

La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi in 1699 and 
began a settlement there. He called all of the country along the 
river Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV of France. 

All of the English colonies at this time were east of the 
Alleghany mountains, but the English people claimed all of the 
country as far west as the Mississippi river and wanted to drive 
the French away. 

The English and French soon began to quarrel over the land 
and then wars broke out. 

Several wars were fought between the French and the 
English. The last one and the most important was called the 
" French and Indian war." 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 

This war began in 1754. 

At that time George Washington was a young man living in 
Virginia. He was very brave and knew a great deal about the 
western country. 

In 1753 the governor of Virginia sent him with messages to 
the French commanding them to give up their forts and to leave 
the land between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi river. 

The French refused to do this and in 1754 Washington was 
sent with troops to fight against them. Soon after this the war 
began. Many Indians fought with the French against the 
English in this war. 

In 1755 the King of England sent troops from England to 
help fight the French and Indians. 



80 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 



A number of hard battles were fought in this war. In some 
the EngUsh were victorious, and the French and Indians in 
others. 

In 1759 the English sent troops to Canada to attack the French 
there. General Wolfe commanded the English and General 
Montcalm was the French commander. 

Quebec is on the top of a high cliff which overlooks the St. 
Lawrence river. One night General Wolfe and his men went 




OLD VIEW OF QUEBEC FROM THE RIVER 

in small boats to the foot of the cliff and climbed up the steep 
sides to the top. In the morning the French were very much 
surprised to see the English soldiers in line ready for battle. The 
place where they were was near the city of Quebec on a level 
piece of land called the Plains of Abraham. 

A very hard battle followed and the French were totally 
defeated. The two generals, Wolfe and Montcalm, were mortally 
wounded on the battlefield. They were both very brave men. 
When Wolfe heard that the French were fleeing, he said, '' Now 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 81 

God be praised ! I die in peace." And Montcalm's last words 
were, " Thank God, I shall not live to see the surrender of 
Quebec." 

After the battle, the English took possession of Quebec. Then 
they won other victories and at length the French were conquered. 

The treaty of peace between England and France was signed 
in 1763. The French gave up nearly all of Canada and all of the 
country between the IMississippi river and the Alleghanies except 
some territory around New Orleans. 



1. Tell of something that was done by each of the following men: 

a. Champlain ; b. Father Marquette ; c. La Salle. 

2. Tell what territory west of the Alleghanies was claimed by the 

French, and what they did in this part of the country. 

3. Tell why quarrels arose between the French and the English in 

America. 

4. a. Tell what part George Washington took at the beginning of the 

French and Indian war. 

b. Give a description of the battle on the Plains of Abraham. 

c. Tell what the result of the French and Indian w^ar was. 

5. Give the dates of the following: 

a. The founding of Quebec. 

b. The treaty of peace between England and France. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
The Revolutionary War 

THE CAUSE 

The people in the thirteen colonies were subjects of the King 
of England. They were willing to belong to England as long as 

they were ruled justly. But in 1764 
King George III and the English 
parliament began to tax' the Ameri- 
cans without allowing them to have 
anything . to say about it, and the 
Americans thought this was not right. 
Taxes were first laid on all the 
coffee, sugar, and tea that the Ameri- 
cans got from England. Then in 1765, 
parliament passed the " Stamp Act." 
This put a tax on all paper that was 
used for business purposes in the 
colonies. 

The Americans thought that all of 
this was unjust, and would not pay the taxes. 

In 1766 parliament repealed the " Stamp Act." Soon after- 
wards, however, King George sent soldiers to America, and said 
that the Americans would have to pay their expenses. This the 
Americans also refused to do. 




KING GEORGE III 



82 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 83 

The people were very indignant. They held meetings all over 
the country opposing the taxes. There was so much excitement 
that finally England took the taxes off from everything except 
tea. But the Americans were not willing to pay even the tax 
on tea. In 1773, when a cargo of tea from England came into 
Boston harbor for the Americans to buy, several men dressed 
up as Indians, went on board the ship, and threw all of the tea 
into the water. This w^as called the " Boston Tea Party." People 
in other cities also refused to buy the tea that was sent from 
England. 

When King George heard of this, he sent a large number 
of soldiers to America. He thought he could frighten the people 
into obedience. 

Men from all the colonies met in Philadelphia in 1774 to 
decide what to do. This body of men was called the " Continen- 
tal Congress." They decided not to buy anything more from 
England until King George and the British parliament stopped 
being so unjust. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR 

Many of the people in the colonies did not want to belong 
to England any longer and they began to get ready for war. 

The Massachusetts people stored some ammunition and 
provisions at Concord which is about eighteen miles from Boston. 
General Gage, who was in command of the British soldiers in 
Boston, heard of this and decided to send some men to Concord 
to destroy the ammunition. Eight hundred soldiers started one 
night hoping that the Americans would not see them. 

Paul Revere was a Boston man. He knew that the British 
were planning to go to Concord and he was watching. When 



84 THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 

he saw them starting, he had a Hght hung in a church tower 
as a signal to others who were also watching, and then he 
jumped on his horse and hurried along the road to Concord 
rousing the people from house to house. As soon as the men 
were called, they rushed on to the town of Lexington which is on 
the way to Concord. There, under the command of Captain 
Parker, they waited for the British. 

When the British reached Lexington in the morning, they 
were very much surprised to see the Americans tliere. They 
began firing on them, and then there was a fight. The British 
killed eight Americans and wounded others. This was the first 
fight of the Revolutionary war. It was on April 19, 1775. 

The British went on to Concord and had another fight there 
with the Americans. As they were going back to Boston, the 
Americans hid behind trees, fences, and barns, and shot and 
killed a large number of them as they passed. 

War now began in earnest. In 1775 the Continental Congress 
chose George Washington to be the commander-in-chief of the 
American army. 

The army was very poor. The soldiers had no uniforms and 
some of them had no guns, but all of them were brave and willing 
to fight. Washington got guns and uniforms for them. He 
worked hard drilling them, and finally he had a fairly good 
army. 

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress declared that the 
colonies were free and independent. This was called the 
" Declaration of Independence." Several members of Congress 
were chosen to write the Declaration, but it was done mostly by 
Thomas Jefferson of \'irginia. Then it was signed by all the 
members of Congress. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 



85 



As soon as this was done, the bell in the steeple of the State 
House was rung to let the people know of the good news. 
Couriers carried the news to all parts of the land and there was 
rejoicing everywhere. The bell that was rung is still kept in 
Philadelphia. It is called the " Liberty Bell." 




INDEPENDENCE HALL IN 1776 

After this, many battles were fought between the British and 
the Americans. The war lasted for eight years. 

The hardest time for the Americans during the war was the 
winter of 1777-7^- In the fall the Americans met with several 
defeats and Congress had no money for the soldiers. Washington 
took his troops to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, and they spent 



86 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 



the winter there. They suffered terribly for it was very cold 
and many of the men had no shoes or blankets and their clothes 
were ragged. The ground was frozen and covered with snow 
most of the time, and they had to live in very poor huts. But 



f^^; 



^;l ^' 










CAMP AT VALLEY FORGE 



they were brave men and every day they drilled so as to be ready 
for war in the spring. 

Many of the French people sympathized with the Americans. 
In 1777 a young French nobleman, the Marquis de Lafayette, 
fitted out a ship and came with a party of Frenchmen to help us 
fight for freedom. Washington and Lafayette became the 
warmest of friends. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 



87 




WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE AT WASHINGTON'S HOME 

In February, 1778, France acknowledged the independence of 
the United States, and in the spring a large number of French 
soldiers came to America to fight for us. 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR 

The last great battle of the war was fought at Yorktown, 
Virginia. 

Lord Cornwallis was one of the best of the British generals. 
In the fall of 1781 the soldiers in the South and the French 
under Lafayette drove him and his large army into Yorktown. 
Here he made preparations for a siege. 

A French fleet then arrived in Chesapeake bay to keep him 
from escaping by sea and Washington brought his army from 



88 THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 

New York. Washington's army and a large number of French 
soldiers surrounded Yorktown. Then the siege began. 

The American and the French soldiers showed great courage. 
For over a w^eek they fired continuously on the city and finally 
Cornwallis had to surrender. Over seven thousand of his soldiers 
laid down their arms and became prisoners of war. This was on 
October 19, 1781. 

The news of this surrender spread rapidly over the country. 
It was received everywhere with great joy, for the Americans felt 
certain now that they would gain their independence. 

The war ended soon after this battle. On September 3, 1783, 
the treaty of peace was signed at Paris, and the independence of 
our country was recognized by England. 

The new countrv was called the United States of America. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

In 1787 a convention met in Philadelphia to decide on the best 
way of governing our country. George Washington was a mem- 
ber of this convention and he was made president of it. 

The convention formed a set of rules and regulations which 
all the colonies afterwards agreed to adopt. This set of rules 
and regulations is called the Constitution of the United States. 

The Constitution says that the United States must have a Con- 
gress to make laws for all the country; that it must have a 
President and officers under him to see that the people obey the 
laws ; and that it must have a Supreme Court and lower courts 
to explain the laws and to settle questions of law. 

Congress is divided into two bodies, — a Senate and a House 
of Representatives. Each state has two Senators, and one or 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 89 

more Representatives according to its population. The Senators 
are elected for a term of six years and the Representatives for 
a term of two years. 

The President and Vice-President are elected for a term of 
four years. The President has several men, called his Cabinet, 
to help him in his duties. The members of the Cabinet are the 
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary 
of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Postmaster-General, the 
Attorney-General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Labor and Commerce. 



THE INAUGURATION OF OUR FIRST PRESIDENT 

In 1789 George Washington was chosen to be the first Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

The inaugural ceremony took place on the thirtieth of April 
in New York which was then the capital of the United States. 
Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of the old 
City Hall there. The streets were thronged wnth people and the 
buildings were gay with flags. Cannon were fired and bells 
were rung. 

Washington was President of the United States for eight 
years. 



I. Tell — 

1. What the cause of the Revolutionary war was. 

2. What the result was. 
II. Tell about — 

1. The first taxes that the Americans had to pay. 

2. The Stamp Act. 



90 THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 

3. The Boston Tea Party. 

4. The first Continental Congress. 

5. General Gage and what he wanted to do. 

6. Paul Revere's ride. 

7. The battle of Lexington. 

8. Washington's taking command of the American army. 

9. The condition of the army. 

10. The Declaration of Independence. 

11. Washington and his troops at Valley Forge. 

12. The aid that came from the French. 

13. The battle at Yorktown. 

14. The surrender of Cornwallis. 

III. Give the dates of the following events — 

a. The Battle of Lexington. ■* 

b. The Declaration of Independence. 

c. The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 

d. The signing of the treaty of peace. 

e. Washington made President of the United States. 

IV. a. Tell what 30U can about Congress. 

b. Name the members of the President's Cabinet. 



CHAPTER XIX 
George Washington 

BOYHOOD 

George Washington's father was a wealthy man. He lived on 
a large plantation on the Potomac river in Virginia. Several 
hundred slaves did the work on the plantation. 

George was born February 22, 1732. Soon after his birth 
the family moved to a plantation on the Rappahannock river. 

When George was eleven years old, his father died and he 
and his mother were the only ones of the family left in the home. 
His mother was a very intelligent and cultured woman. She 
taught George to be orderly and careful in everything that he did, 
and above all things to be truthful and honorable. 

In the country schools which George attended, he first learned 
to read, write, and do arithmetic, and later he studied surveying. 

He enjoyed out-of-doors sports and was a very fine horseman. 

George's brother Lawrence had a home called Mount Vernon 
on the Potomac river. Once when George was on a visit to his 
brother, he met Lord Fairfax, a wealthy man who owned a large 
estate in Virginia. His land extended beyond the Blue Ridge 
mountains. 

George and Lord Fairfax became great friends and when 
George was sixteen, Lord Fairfax employed him to survey his 
western lands for him. 

George learned a great deal about the land west of the 
mountains and about the Indians whom he often met in the woods. 

91 



92 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



It took him about three years to survey Lord Fairfax's land, and 
the rough Hfe out-of-doors made him strong and hardy. 

Washington grew to be six feet three inches tall. He was 
quiet and dignified in his manner, and he was so truthful and 
upright that everyone respected him. 

MANHOOD 

In the French and Indian war, Washington was made a major 
when he was only nineteen, and later he was made a colonel. He 
was very brave and was always to be found at the front in battle. 
He had many remarkable escapes. In one battle two horses were 
killed under him and several bullets were shot through his coat. 




WASHINGTON PLANTATION 

From Montgomery's Beginners' American History 
by permission of Ginn & Co., publishers 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 



93 



In 1759 he married a widow named Mrs. Martha Custis. She 
had two Httie children. They went to Hve at Mount Vernon, the 
beautiful home on the Potomac which Washington's brother had 
left him. Their plantation was a large one and Washington had 
many slaves. He was kind to his slaves and they were very fond 
of him. 

When the Revolutionary war broke out, W^ashington was made 
the commander-in-chief of the American army. During all of 
this war, he showed 
great courage and wis- 
dom and won the confi- 
dence and respect of all 
the American people. 

After our country 
had become independent, 
he was chosen to be the 
first President of the 
United States. He made 
a good President and 
was elected for a second 
term. The people wanted 
him to serve a third 
term, but this he refused 
to do. He needed a rest 
and wished to spend the 
remainder of his life at 
his home in Virginia. 

He did not live long, however, after his return to Mount 
Vernon. One day in December, 1799, he was out in a hard 




GEORGE WASHINGTON. FIRST PRESIDENT 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

(From the paintimj hy Stuart.) 



94 GEORGE WASHINGTON 

storm and caught a severe cold from which he could not recover. 
He died on the fourteenth of December. 

Washington was loved and honored for his goodness and 
wisdom by all who knew him, and his loss was mourned in Eng- 
land and in France as well as in our own country. 



I. Tell about — 

1. Washington's first home. 

2. His boyhood. 

3. His work in the French and Indian war. 

4. His marriage. 

5. Mount Vernon. 

6. His work in the Revolutionary war. 

7. Washington as President. 

8. His death. 

II. Write a short sketch of Washington in your own words. 



CHAPTER XX 
Benjamin Franklin 

HIS YOUTH 

Benjamin Franklin began life as a poor boy but he became 
a very great man. 

He was born in Boston in 1706. His father was a soap and 
candle maker and the family was very poor. There were sixteen 
other children besides Benjamin in the family, and it was hard 
at times to make ends meet. 

When Benjamin was ten years old, he had to leave school and 
help his father work. 

After a time he was apprenticed to his brother James who had 
a printing-office. That means that he worked for his brother 
for his board while he was learning to print. This gave him a 
chance to read a good deal. He was delighted for he was fond 
of reading and was anxious to learn all that he could. 

While he was in his brother's office, he often borrowed books 
from booksellers and then he would read then at night and return 
them in the morning. After awhile he persuaded his brother to 
let him buy his own meals, and then he lived very plainly so that 
he could save some of his money and buy books. 

Benjamin and his brother did not get along very well to- 
gether, however, and at last Benjamin ran away to New York. 

There were no good printing-offices in New York at that time, 
so Franklin went on to Philadelphia. He arrived there early one 

95 



96 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

Sunday morning with only a few pennies in his pocket. He went 
into a bakery and bought three rolls for his breakfast. As he 
was going along the street eating them, a young girl named 
Deborah Read saw him and laughed at him. In after years this 
same girl became his wife. 

Franklin found some work to do in a printing-office in Phila- 
delphia, and a year afterwards he went home to visit his mother 
and father with a fine new suit of clothes on and his pockets full 
of money. 

After a time he started a printing-office of his own in Phila- 
delphia. He had to work very hard for a long time to pay for 
the things in the office. He often worked from early morning 
till late at night but at last everything was paid for. 

People began to notice how hard he worked and they found 
out how honest he was and liked him. 



FRANKLIN IN PUBLIC LIFE 

In a few years Franklin started a newspaper. So many 
people took it that he soon began to make a good deal of money. 
Besides the printing-office, he had a shop where he sold books and 
stationery. 

Later Franklin published a pamphlet which he called " Poor 
Richard's Almanac." There were many jokes and wise sayings 
in it and people liked it very much. 

Whenever Franklin had any spare time, he read and studied, 
and he became a very learned man. 

He did a great deal for the good of the country. He started 
the first public library in America and helped to open the first 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



97 



hospital. He founded a school which afterwards became the 
University of Pennsylvania. When there was trouble with the 
Indians on the frontier, he gathered companies of soldiers and 
sent them to protect the white people. 

The thing that made people talk of him more than anything 
else he did was a great discovery that he made. He found out 
that lightning was electricity and that it could be brought down 
from the clouds. He found this out 
with a kite made of silk. He fastened 
a small piece of iron to the sticks of 
the kite and a key to the end of the 
string which he held. When a 
thunder storm came up, he went out 
and flew the kite. The lightning struck 
the kite and came down the string to 
the key. Franklin put his knuckle 
close to the key and a spark of 
electricity flew out and gave him a 
shock. Then he knew that lightning 
was electricity. 

People all over the world were 
surprised when they heard of this discovery. Franklin became 
famous and was called the great Doctor Franklin. 

At the time of the Revolutionary war, he did much to help 
the colonies. He helped to write the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. Then after the war had begun, he went to France and 
persuaded the French people to send soldiers and money to help 
the colonies. After the war he helped form the Constitution of 
the United States. 

People in America and abroad honored and respected him. 
7 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



98 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

For two years before his death he suffered a great deal, but 
he was patient and uncomplaining. 

Franklin wrote some good books and he said many wise 
things. The following are some of his maxims: 

'* Never leave till to-morrow what you can do to-day." 

'* There are no gains without pains." 

'' Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, 
and wise." 

" Lost time is never found again." 



I. Tell — 

1. When and where Franklin was born. 

2. What made him famous. 

3. What he did to help the country. 
II. Tell about — 

1. Franklin's home life. 

2. His apprenticeship to his brother. 

3. His reading. 

4. The trouble with his brother. 

5. His arrival in Philadelphia. 

6. His return home the next year. 

7. His first printing-ofiice. 

8. His newspaper and almanac. 

9. His great discovery. 

III. Give some of his maxims. 

IV. Tell all you can about Franklin in your own words. 



CHAPTER XXI 

Daniel Boone and the Founding of Kentucky 

At the time of the Revolutionary war, most of the colonists 
were living between the AUeghanies and the Atlantic coast. 

Everything west of the AUeghanies was very wild. Much of 
the country was covered with forests. There were many Indians 
there, and wild animals prowled through the forests. A few 
brave men had gone into this country some time before the Revo- 
lution and had started settlements. Daniel Boone was one of 
them. 

Boone was a great pioneer. He loved to explore unknown 
parts of the country. He and some of his companions were the 
first settlers in Kentucky. 

His parents came from England and he was born in Penn- 
sylvania in 1735. When he was very young, the family moved to 
an unsettled part of Pennsylvania where the Indians often came 
and attacked the white people. Boone grew up there. He had 
very little education, but he loved the woods and learned a great 
deal about the trees and birds and wild animals. He became 
a great hunter. 

In time the family moved to North Carolina and there Boone 
married. In 1760 he crossed the mountains with some other ex- 
plorers, and for some time hunted in the wilderness along the 
Tennessee river. 

Then, in 1769, he and five other men went to explore some 
land that is now in Kentucky. They found the climate fine and 

99 



100 DANIEL BOONE AND THE FOUNDING OF KENTUCKY 

the soil fertile and they liked it very much. In the winter Boone's 
brother joined the party. 

Before very long all of the men in the party except Boone and 
his brother were killed either by the Indians or by wolves, 
and the two brothers were left alone. In the spring, when they 




DANIEL BOONE 

needed ammunition and clothing, Boone sent his brother back to 
North Carolina for them. His brother was gone for three 
months and all this time Boone lived alone in the forest. 



FOUNDING OF KENTUCKY 

In 1 77 1 the Boone brothers went back to Carolina for their 
families. Some other families joined them, and in 1773 all of 
them set out for their new home. 

On the way they were attacked by the Indians and six of them 
were killed. The men had a number of fights with the Indians. 



DANIEL BOONE AND THE FOUNDING OF KENTUCKY 101 

but Boone was a good leader^ and he and his friends succeeded 
in holding their own. 

Finally, in 1775, the party decided on a place to settle and they 
built a fort there and called it Boonesborough. 

One day, two years after this, Boone and several other men 
from the fort were captured by a large party of Indians and 
carried off. The Indians kept Boone for a long time. He was 
afraid of making them angry so he pretended that he was pleased 
with their way of living. At last they adopted him. They 
pulled out all of his hair except the scalp lock and painted his 
face to make him look like a real Indian. 

After awhile these Indians made preparations to attack 
Boonesborough, and Boone felt that he must warn the people 
in the fort. One morning he pretended that he was going hunt- 
ing, but as soon as he was some distance from the Indians, he 
made his escape. He hurried to Boonesborough and was in time 
to give the warning. 

All the people at the fort had supposed that he was dead, and 
his wife and children had returned to North Carolina. 

Boone helped to fight the Indians when they came and the fort 
was saved. 

After the Revolutionary war, he and his family lived quietly 
on a farm for awhile, but in 1795 they moved farther west again. 

Boone hunted as long as he was strong enough to carry a gun. 
Finally he died in Missouri when he was eighty-eight years old. 



1. Tell in what part of the country the colonists were living at the time 

of the Revolutionary war. 

2. Describe the country west of the Alleghany mountains at that time. 

3. Tell who Daniel Boone was. 



102 DANIEL BOONE AND THE FOUNDING OF KENTUCKY 

4. Give the date of his birth and tell where he was born. 

5. Tell how his boyhood was spent. 

6. Teli of his marriage. 

7. Tell what he did in 1760 and in 1769. 

8. Give an account of the winter and spring he spent in the wilderness 

of Kentucky. 

9. Tell of the journey of Boone and his friends from North Carolina 

to the place where they built Fort Boonesborough. 

10. Give an account of Boone's capture and adoption by the Indians. 

11. Tell of his escape and warning to the people at the fort. 

12. Tell what you can of his last years. 



CHAPTER XXII 

James Robertson and John Sevier- Founders 
of Tennessee 

James Robertson was a great hunter who Uved in North 
Carolina at the time Daniel Boone was exploring the land west 
of the Alleghany mountains. 

The governor of North Carolina at that time was William 
Tryon. He was so tyrannical that the people hated him. He 
obtained large sums of money from them by taxing them very 

heavily. 

After a while the people refused to give him any more money. 

This angered him, and he marched against them with a company 

of soldiers. A battle was fought near the Alamance river in the 

western part of the state. Tyron was victorious. After the 

battle he hanged several of the men who had fought against him. 

James Robertson and a number of other men decided that they 

would not live in North Carolina any longer, so they took their 

families and started across the mountains. This was in 1770. 

They had a hard journey, but finally they reached a beautiful 

place on the other side of the mountains. It was on the Watauga 

river in what is now the state of Tennessee. They cut down 

trees and built log cabins, and before long were very happy in 

their new homes. 

About a year after they had settled there, a man from Virginia 
named John Sevier joined them. He and Robertson became 
great friends and were the leaders of the new settlement. 

103 



104 JAMES ROBERTSON AND JOHN SEVIER 

The people made good laws for their little village. Later 
other towns grew up in the vicinity, and in time the state of Ten- 
nessee was formed. John Sevier was made the first governor of 
the state. 



1. Name the founders of Tennessee. 

2. Tell why the people of North Carolina hated Governor Tryon. 

3. Tell about the battle on the Alamance river. 

4. Tell of the party that left North Carolina with James Robertson 

and of the settlement they made. 

5. Tell what you can of John Sevier. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



Georgre Rogers Clarke 

While the Revolutionary war was going on in the colonies, the 
British were holding some forts in the country west of the 
Alleghany mountains. One of the largest of these forts was at 
Detroit in the north, and two 
others were Fort Vincennes 
and Fort Kaskaskia farther 
south. 

Virginia at this time owned 
a great deal of the western 
wilderness. Patrick Henry 
was governor of the state. A 
Virginian named George 
Rogers Clarke believed that he 
could take the forts from the British and drive the British out of 
the western country. He persuaded the governor to let him try 
to do it. 

In the spring of 1778 he started out with about a hundred and 
seventy men. When they reached the Ohio river, they went down 
it for several hundred miles in boats which they had made them- 
selves. Then they marched about a hundred miles across the 
country to Fort Kaskaskia, which was in what is now the state 
of Illinois. They reached the fort one night and surprised the 
men there so completely that they were able to take the fort with- 
out a struggle. 

105 




106 GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE 

In February of the next year, Clarke and his men set out for 
Fort Vincennes in what is now the state of Indiana. First they 
had to go a great many miles through a very rough country. It 
was a hard march for it was very cold. Once they came to a 
place where the land was flooded several feet deep, and it was so 
cold that the water was sometimes frozen. For several days 
Clarke and his men waded through this cold water. It almost 
killed some of the men, but finally -all of them reached the fort 
and after a hard fight took it from the British. Not long after- 
wards Fort Detriot was given over to the Americans. 

Clarke in this way conquered the British in the country 
between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi river, and because 
of this we were able to claim this part of the country at the close 
of the Revolutionary war. 

Clarke was a very brave man and should have received great 
honor for what he did. But he was neglected in his old age and 
died a poor man. A long time after his death, in 1895, the people 
erected a monument to his memory in Indianapolis. 



1. Tell who George Rogers Clarke was and what he asked the gover- 

nor of Virginia to let him do. 

2. Give an account of the journey to Fort Kaskaskia and of the taking 

of it. 

3. Describe the journey from Fort Kaskaskia to Fort Vincennes and 

tell what the result was. 

4. Tell in what way Clarke's victories helped our country. 

5. Tell how he was living at the time of his death. 

6. Tell of the monument that has since been erected in his honor. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

Our Country at the Close of the Revolutionary 

War 

At the close of the Revolutionary war, the people in the United 
States did not have many of the things that we have now to make 
life easy and comfortable. There were no railroads, steamboats, 
telegraph, telephones, or electric lights. Wool was spun into 




A STAGE COACH 



thread on spinning-wheels and cloth was woven in the homes 
instead of being made in factories as it is now. When people 
traveled by land, they went on horseback and in stage coaches, 
and when they took trips down the river, they went on flat-boats. 
Many of the people who lived in the Southern states had fine 
homes and large numbers of slaves. Many led gay, fashion- 
able lives. The women dressed beautifully. The men wore 

107 



108 OUR COUNTRY AT CLOSE OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR 

breeches fastened at the knee with buckles, and long stock- 
ings. They wore their 
hair long and both 
men and women powdered 
their hair. But even the 
people who had the best 
things of those days had 
to do without many of 
the conveniences that the 
poorer people have now. 

Most of the wealthy 
people were cultured and 
well educated, but there 
were no public schools 
such as we have now, and 
the majority of the people 
had very little education. 

Several colleges had 
been started by this time. 
There was Harvard 
College at Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Yale at New Haven, Con- 
necticut; William and Mary College at Williamsburg, Virginia; 
and others in New York city and Philadelphia; but usually only 
boys of well-to-do families attended these colleges. 




AT AN OLD SOUTHERN HOME 



1. Name some of the things we have now that people did not have in 

the times just after the Revolutionary war. 

2. Tell about the making of cloth at that time. 

3. Tell how the people traveled. 

4. Describe the life at that time of the wealthy people in the Southern 

states, 

5. Tell what you can of the education of the people. 



CHAPTER XXV 



^'"' 









Rufus Putnam and Settlements in the Ohio 

Valley 

After the war of the Revolution, a great many people began 
crossing the Alleghanies to settle in the western part of the 
country. They carried their things on pack horses and on flat- 
boats. Many of these 
people settled on the 
Ohio river. 

Rufus Putnam 
was a Massachusetts 
man who was fa- 
mous as a builder of 
forts. He built 

several for Washing- 
ton during the Rev- 
olutionary war. 

About five years 
after the war, he 
started for the West 
with a party of New 
England people. 

They went across the 

country to the Ohio valley, and there on the river they built a 
pretty village which they called Marietta in honor of Queen Mary 

109 




no 



SETTLEMENTS IN THE OHIO VALLEY 



of France. This was the first settlement in what is now the state 
of Ohio. 

For awhile the people in Marietta were very happy, but before 
long the Indians began to trouble them. An Indian war broke 
out and the people of Marietta could not go beyond the wall 
around their village without danger of being killed by the Indians. 
Many fights also occurred between the Indians and the settlers 
in the frontier towns of Kentucky. Many of the Kentuckians 
were killed and many were taken captive. 

Washington finally sent soldiers to subdue the Indian tribes 
that were giving the trouble. The first generals who tried to do 
it failed. Then Washington sent General Anthony Wayne who 
was a very bold fighter. He was so courageous that people called 
him " Mad Anthony Wayne." 

General Wayne met the Indians on the banks of the Maumee 
river in 1794. A big battle was fought there and the Indians 
were utterly defeated. After this there was peace for a long 
time. 

During Washington's administration, great numbers of people 

crossed the mountains 
and settled along the 
Ohio river. Many vil- 
lages arose on its banks. 
The people in these little 
villages made almost 
everything that they 
used. Their furniture 
was hand-made and they 
A FLATBOAT made wooden bowls and 

plates for the table. They spun flax and wove the cloth for 




SETTLEMENTS IN THE OH*IO VALLEY 1 1 1 

nearly all of their clothing. They raised flax and grain and 
vegetables on their farms. Sometimes they took loads of their 
farm products on flat-boats to New Orleans and sold them there. 

In 1 79 1 the capital of the United States was removed from 
New York to Philadelphia. Washington then lived in Phila- 
delphia until he retired from the presidency in 1797. 

John Adams succeeded Washington as President and was 
President for four years. 

In 1800 Washington city became the capital of the United 
States, and in 180 1 Thomas Jefferson was made President. 



I. Tell — 

1. Why many people crossed the Alleghanies after the Revolu- 

tionary war. 

2. How they carried their things. 

3. Who Rufus Putnam was. 

4. What he did after the war. 
II. Tell about — 

1. The village that Putnam and his party built. 

2. The trouble with the Indians at Marietta and in the frontier 

towns of Kentucky. 

3. General Wayne's victory over the Indians. 

4. The life of the settlers in the Ohio valley. 
III. Give the dates of the following — 

1. The removal of the capital of the LTnited States from New 

York to Philadelphia. 

2. The removal of the capital from Philadelphia to Washington 

city. 

3. Thomas Jefferson made President of the United States. 



CHAPTER XXVI * 
Thomas Jefferson 

HIS YOUTH 

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United 
States. 

His father owned a large plantation in Virginia and Jefferson 
was born there in 1743. When he was fourteen, his father died 
and left him the plantation. 

In 1760 Jeff"erson entered William and Mary College at 
Williamsburg, Virginia. He was noted at college for his quick 
mind. Much of his time was spent with learned and cultured 
men who were older than he, and this helped him a great deal. 
He was a fine student, and in later life became a famous scholar. 

After he had been in college two years, he began to study law, 
and in time he became a very fine lawyer. 

He was in college at the time that the colonies were stirred up 
over the taxes which the English parliament had laid upon the 
Americans. One day in the Virginia legislature he heard the 
great speaker Patrick Henry talk of the injustice of the Stamp 
Act, and from that time on he too stood up for the rights of the 
Americans. 

MANHOOD 

When Jefferson's college days were over, he went home and 
soon afterwards married. 

112 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 



113 



For a while he supervised his large plantation. He built a 
very fine home on the top of a hill and called it " Monticello." 
All of the surrounding country could be seen from it. 

When Congress met in Philadelphia in 1776 to decide what to 
do about the taxes, 
Jeflferson was one of 
the delegates sent 
from Virginia. He 
was noted as a fine 
writer, and he wrote 
the greater part of 
the Declaration of 
Independence. 

He was governor 
of Virginia during 
the war of the 
Revolution and later 
he was American 
minister to France. 
He was in France 
for five years. While 
he was gone, A\^ash- 
ington was made 
President of the 
United States, and thomas jefferson 

^^rhi^n Via rf^U-ir^-,f^A From Montgomery's Beginner's American History, 

Wnen ne retUrnea, i^y permission of Ginn & Co.. publishers. 

Washington made him Secretary of State. 

After awhile Jefferson resigned from this position and went 
home to Monticello where he wished to live quietly. Everyone at 
Monticello was glad to see him. Even his slaves loved him for 
8 




114 THOMAS JEFFERSON 

he was always kind to them. His farm at this time was very- 
large. He had a hundred and fifty-four slaves to do the work 
on it. 

In 1/97 the people made him Vice-President of the United 
States and he had to leave home again. 

In 1801 he was made President and was President for eight 
years. At this time the lower part of the Mississippi valley and 
nearly all of the land between the Mississippi and the Rocky 
mountains was called Louisiana and was owned by France. In 
1803, during Jefferson's administration, France sold Louisiana 
to the United States for $15,000,000. 

After his two terms as President, Jefiferson went home and 
stayed there the remainder of his life. He was very hospitable 
and had so many guests that at last he became quite poor from 
entertaining them. 

The last important thing he did was to found the Univer- 
sity of Virginia. He died at Monticello in 1826. 



I. Tell — 

1. Who Thomas Jefferson was. 

2. When and where he was born. 

3. Several important things that he did. 
II. Tell about — 

1. His college life and his law work. 

2. His marriage and his home. 

3. The writing of the Declaration of Independence. 

4. Jefferson in France. 

5. The position he held under Washington. 

6. His election to the Vice-Presidency and then to the 

Presidency. 

7. The Louisiana purchase. 

8. Jefferson's home life and his great hospitality. 

9. The university he founded. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
The War of 18 12 

THE CAUSE AND THE BEGINNING 

After the Revolutionary war, unfriendly feeling continued be- 
tween America and England. The English people troubled us 
in several ways. Sometimes they seized our ships and interrupted 
our trade with other countries. They were at war with France, 
and sometimes they went on board our ships, took our men, and 
made them fight on the English ships against the French. 

Another thing they did was to stir up the Indians to fight 
against us, sometimes even giving them arms and ammunition. 

These things finally led to a second war between America and 
England. 

War was declared in June, 1812. England had a big army of 
fine soldiers and a great many warships. America had almost no 
army and only a few warships, but there were many brave men 
who were willing to fight hard for their country. 



THE NAVY 

At the beginning of the war, the American army suffered many 
defeats, but the navy surprised the world by its victories. In a 
short time a number of English warships were captured by our 
men. It was considerd very remarkable, for the English navy 
was the strongest on the seas. 

115 



116 



THE WAR OF 1812 



There were some very courageous officers in our navy. One of 
them was Captain James Lawrence. In 1813 he won a very im- 
portant victory over the British and sank one of their best ships 
in fifteen minutes. He received great praise for this and was 
given a gold medal by Congress. The last ship he commanded 
was one called the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake met the British 
ship Shannon in a dreadful fight in June, 18 13. In a short time 




PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE 

Copyright by Detroit Photographic Co. 



the Chesapeake began to sink. Captain Lawrence who was stand- 
ing on the upper deck was shot and mortally wounded. He fell 
dying on the deck, but his courage even then did not fail him. 
As the men were carrying him down the stairs, his last words 
were, '* Boys, don't give up the ship." These words became 
famous and the American sailors took them for their battle cry. 



THE WAR OF 1812 117 

In another battle on Lake Erie, Commodore Perry was in 
command of the American fleet. During the fight, the ship he 
was on began to sink. He got into a small open boat with the flag 
of his ship, and while he was being rowed to another vessel, he 
stood so that his men in the other ships could see him and not 
lose courage. Shots were fired at him from all directions but 
he did not waver. When he reached the other vessel, he led his 
ships against the British and conquered the whole British fleet. 



BATTLES ON LAND 

Many battles were fought on land, and victory was won first 
on one side and then on the other. 

General William Harrison, who was governor of Indiana 
Territory at this time, was one of the leading men among our 
soldiers. 

He had won an important victory over the Indians before the 
war began. There was a young Indian chief named Tecumseh 
in the West who gave the white people a great deal of trouble. 
He had a brother called the '' Prophet " who pretended that he 
received messages from the '' Great Spirit " of the Indians. 
These two brothers wanted to drive all of the white settlers away 
from the West. Tecumseh persuaded many of the Indians to 
join him for the purpose of making war on the white people. In 
1811 he went south to stir up the Indians there against the 
Americans. While he was gone, trouble arose among the North- 
ern Indians. General Harrison marched against a large number 
of them who were with the '' Prophet " and conquered them in 
a big battle on the Tippecanoe river in Indiana. 



118 THE WAR OF 1812 

During the war of 1812 General Harrison went into Canada 
and won a great battle there over the English and their Indian 
allies. Tecumseh was killed in this battle. 

Andrew Jackson was another man who won fame in this war. 
He was in Tennessee in command of a regiment when the war 
broke out. 

In 181 3, Indians in several of the Southern states rose against 
the white people and tortured and massacred many of them. 
Jackson led his men against them, and, after a number of battles, 
completely conquered them. 

In January, 181 5, after many other battles had been fought 
both in the Northern and Southern states, Jackson was sent to 
New Orleans to defend it. Twelve thousand British soldiers 
landed near the city. Jackson had only half as many men. He 
built strong earthworks on the side of a deep ditch, placed some 
cannon on top, and then waited for the British. When they 
came, there was a hard fight but it was a short one. It lasted 
only about a half an hour. The Americans were victorious, and 
only eight Americans were killed while the British lost over two 
thousand men. Congress gave Jackson a vote of thanks and a 
gold medal for his great victory. 

This battle was fought on January 8, 181 5. The War of 1812 
now ended. The treaty of peace had been signed in Belgium in 
December, 1814. 



Tell what you can of the following — 

1. The causes of the War of 1812. 

2. The second declaration of war between England and 

America. 

3. How England and America compared as to army and navy. 

4. Captain James Lawrence. 



THE WAR OF 1812 II9 

5. Commodore Perry. 

6. General Harrison's victories. 

7. The Indian chief Tecumseh and his brother. 

8. Andrew Jackson's victories over the Indians 

9. His defense of New Orleans. 

10. How he was rewarded for his victory. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
Andrew Jackson 

BOYHOOD 

Andrew Jackson's father was an Irishman who came to 
America and settled on a farm on the hne between North CaroHna 
and South Carohna. It was a rough uncultivated part of the 
country. Andrew was born in a log cabin on the farm and grew 
up there. 

He went to school in a log schoolhouse near his home. The 
boys called him " Andy." They liked him but they wxre a little 
bit afraid of him because he was hot-tempered. They generally 
obeyed him when he told them to do anything. 

When he was about thirteen, the Revolutionary war broke 
out. Once he and his brother were taken prisoners by the 
British and kept for some time. At last they were put into a 
damp prison and there they were taken ill with the small-pox. 
After many efforts their mother finally succeeded in having them 
exchanged for British prisoners of war. 

By this time Andrew's father was dead and his mother was 
taking care of the family. She earned money by spinning flax. 
She was a good woman, and Andrew learned from her to always 
act honorably and to always do what he believed was right. She 
often nursed the wounded soldiers and sometimes Andrew helped 
her carry food to them. She died when Andrew was fourteen. 

When he was eighteen he began to study law. 

120 



ANDREW JACKSON 



121 



MANHOOD. 

Jackson went to Tennessee to practice law. There were many 
rough people there and he had to settle many quarrels among 
them. 

He became a judge. He was stern and quick-tempered, but 
the people had great respect for him for they knew he always 
did what he thought was right. 

He was elected to the House of Representatives in the Ten- 
nessee legislature, and later to the 
United States Senate. 

He joined the army to fight in 
the War of 1812. He was very 
brave and became distinguished as 
a soldier. His soldiers were very 
fond of him. They nicknamed him 
" Old Hickory " because he would 
never give up anything until he 
was really conquered. 

His victories in the War of 1812 
made him famous, and he was 
praised all over the country. Andrew jackson 

In 1828 the people elected him President of the United States 
and he was President from 1829 to 1837. 

Jackson was quick-tempered, and had a rough way of talking, 
but he was honest and brave and true to his friends, and many 
people loved him. He made a good President, and under his 
rule, the people obeyed the laws. 




I. Tell 



1. Where Andrew Jackson was born. 

2. Something of his parents. 



122 ANDREW JACKSON 

3. Something of his school life. 
II. Tell about — 

1. Jackson being a British prisoner. 

2. His law practice. 

3. The positions to which he was elected. 

4. Jackson as a soldier. 

5. Jackson as President. 

III. Write a short sketch of Andrew Jackson in your own words 



CHAPTER XXIX • 

Growth of the United States 

After the Revolutionary war, other states were gradually 
added to the original thirteen. Vermont, which was admitted 
to the Union in 1791, was the first to be added. Then followed 
Kentucky in 1792, Tennessee in 1796, Ohio in 1803, and Louisi- 
ana in 1812. 

When the War of 1812 began, there were eighteen states. 
After this war many people came from European countries. 
Many of these people and many from the eastern states settled 
in the Mississippi valley for there was now peace there with the 
Indians. 

Indiana became a state in 1816, Mississippi in 18 17, Illinois 
in 1818, Alabama in 1819, Maine in 1820, and Missouri in 1821. 

There were now twenty- four states in the Union and there 
were more than nine million people. 

In 182 1, while James Monroe was President of the United 
States, we obtained Florida from Spain. As Andrew Jackson 
had won a victory over the British in Florida in the War of 
1812, and had conquered some Indians there in 18 18, he was sent 
to receive the new territory from the Spanish governor. 



123 



CHAPTER XXX 
The Mexican War 

THE CAUSES 

At one time Texas was one of the states of Mexico. Many 
Americans went there and settled on land which the Mexican 
government had granted to them. 

After a time quarrels arose between the rulers of Mexico and 
the people of Texas because the Mexican government did not 
always act justly. In 1835 the Texans rebelled and fighting be- 
gan. General Sam Houston commanded the Texans and they 
gained their independence. 

After this Texas was independent for almost ten years. Then 
in 1845, when John Tyler was President of the United States, 
it became one of our states. 

Several years after Texas had become a state, disputes came 
up between the United States and Mexico, and they finally led to 
war. 

One cause of the war was a dispute over the boundary line be- 
tween Mexico and the United States. Another was that the 
Mexicans refused to pay some of the Americans who had lived 
in Texas for property which they had taken from them. 

The Mexican war began in the spring of 1846. 

General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott were the 
leading generals of the United States troops in this war. They 
were both fine generals. They won victory after victory over 

124 



THE MEXICAN WAR 125 

the Mexicans, and finally General Scott took Mexico City in 
1847. 

The Americans also conquered the northern part of Mexico 
which was then called New Mexico and Upper California. 

In February, 1848, a treaty of peace was signed. Mexico gave 
up all the territory called New Mexico and Upper California, 
but our country paid $15,000,000 to Mexico and paid what our 
citizens claimed that Mexico owed them. 

The territory then called New Mexico formed a large part of 
the West. Since then we have m.ade out of it the states of Ari- 
zona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and portions of Colorado, 
Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. 



Tell what you can about — 

1. Texas being a part of Mexico at one time. 

2. The rebellion of the Texans and the cause of it. 

3. The result of this rebellion. 

4. The admission of Texas to the Union. 

5. The causes of the Mexican war. 

6. General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott. 

7. The beginning of the war. 

8. The American victories in the northern part of INIexico. 

9. The result of the Mexican War. 

10. The states that have been made out of the territory given 
to us by Mexico. 



CHAPTER XXXI 
Events in the West 

THE COLUMBIA VALLEY 

In 1846, during the Mexican war, an important dispute be- 
tween England and the United States was settled. 

For a long time both countries had claimed the Columbia river 
valley. The United States had several reasons for claiming it. 
One was that in 1792 Captain Gray of Boston had discovered the 
Columbia river v/hen he was trading along the Pacific coast, and 
had given it its name. Another reason was that two explorers 
named Lewis and Clarke, who had been sent out by President 
Jefferson, had explored this part of the country from 1804 to 
1806. and a third reason was that the town of Astoria on the 
Columbia river had been founded by John Jacob Astor of New 
York in 181 1. 

England had for many years disputed our right to this part 
of the country, but finally in 1846 it was decided that the United 
States should have all of the territory from which the states of 
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho have since been made. 



GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 

A Swiss settler called Captain Sutter lived in California near 
the Sacramento river. He owned a large tract of land there and 
had a barricaded house which was called a fort. He had great 

126 



EVENTS IN THE WEST 



127 



herds of cattle and horses, and a great many men worked for 
him. 

One day in January, 1848, a man who was working for him 
found some particles of gold in the American river at a place 
called Coloma. This was about forty miles from the fort. A 
search was made and it was found that gold was there in great 
quantities. 

Sutter wanted to keep it a secret but the news soon spread. 
Before long people all over the country were excited over it. 




PRAIRIE SCHOONERS 



Thousands of men left their homes to go to California. Dur- 
ing the winter ships carried men around Cape Horn and then up 
the Pacific coast to California. In the spring a great many people 
crossed the plains in wagons covered with canvas and drawn by 
oxen or mules. These wagons were called prairie schooners. 

Besides food, the men took guns and ammunition to protect 
themselves from the Indians who lived on the plains and in the 
western mountains. Many suffered greatly on the hot plains 
and many died on the way. 



128 EVENTS IN THE WEST 

The population of California increased so much in 1849 that 
the people asked for it to be admitted to the Union and this was 
done in 1850. 

California made the thirty-first state. Arkansas had become 
a state in 1836, Michigan in 1837, Florida and Texas in 1845, 
Iowa in 1846, and Wisconsin in 1848. 



1. Tell what dispute between England and the United States 

was settled in 1846. 

2. Give the reasons the United States had for claiming the 

Columbia river valley. 

3. Tell how the dispute was settled. 

4. Give a description of Captain Sutter's home. 

5. Tell of the finding of gold in the American river^ 

6. Give an account of the rush of people to California in 1848 

and 1849. 

7. Tell of California's becoming a state. 

8. Name the states admitted to the Union from 1836 to 1850. 



CHAPTER XXXII 
The Civil War 

CAUSE AND BEGINNING 

After the Mexican war there was a great deal of new land to 
be made into states. By this time most of the Northern states 
had become free states, or states without slaves, and were 
opposed to slavery. But all of the Southern states still had slaves. 
The North and the South had disputes and many quarrels over 
the question as to whether the new states should be free or slave 
states, and the feeling between them became very bitter. 

In i860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United 
States. He was opposed to slavery. He did not want any of 
the new states west of the Mississippi river to come into the 
Union as slave states. 

A number of the Southern states wanted to separate from the 
Northern states and have a government of their own. The gov- 
ernment at Washington said that they had no right to do this. 
Finally this difference of opinion led to war between the North 
and the South. 

South Carolina seceded from the United States in December, 
i860, and then Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisi- 
ana, and Texas followed suit. 

In February, 1861, a convention of delegates from these seven 
states met at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new govern- 
ment. They elected Jefferson Davis President. The new govern- 
ment was called the " Confederate States of America " or the 
" Confederacy." 

9 129 



130 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



Lincoln was inaugurated President of the United States on 
March 4, 1861. 

The first fight of the Civil war was in South Carolina. In 
April the Confederates attacked a United States garrison that 
was at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. The siege lasted for 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



thirty-six hours. Then Major Anderson, who was in command 
of the fort, was forced to leave it. Virginia, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, and Arkansas now joined the Confederacy. 

Great excitement spread over all the country. President 
Lincoln called for soldiers for the Northern army and about 



THE CIVIL WAR 



131 



100,000 men in the Northern states volunteered and poured into 
Washington. In the South great numbers of men rushed to join 
the Southern army. 

The people both North and South thought the war would 

last only a short time, but they 

were mistaken. Both sides 

were fighting for what they 

believed was right and neither 

would give in. The war lasted 

for four years. 

There were great generals 

on both sides. The most noted 

on the Northern side were 

General U. S. Grant, who dur- 
ing the war was made com- 
mander-in-chief of all the 

Union armies ; and Generals 

Philip Sheridan and W. T. 

Sherman. The most famous 
ones on the Southern side were General Robert E. Lee, the chief 
commander of the Confederate armies ; and Generals Thomas J. 
Jackson, Joseph E. Johnson, and Pierre Beauregard. 

Soon after the war began, the Confederate government re- 
moved its capital to Richmond, Virginia. 

By this time there were thirty-four states. Minnesota had 
been admitted in 1858, Oregon in 1859, and Kansas in 186 1. 





CONFEDERATE 
SOLDIER 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 

The Civil war lasted from 1861 to 1865. Many terrible battles 
were fought and great numbers of men were killed on both sides. 



132 THE CIVIL WAR 

On January i, 1863, President Lincoln sent out a proclamation 
freeing all the slaves in the Confederate states. 

During the first days of July in this year, the greatest battle of 
the Civil war was fought. It was the battle of Gettysburg, in 
Pennsylvania. General Lee and General Meade were the oppos- 
ing generals. For three days the men on both sides fought with 
wonderful courage. There were over 40,000 among those who 
were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. It seemed at first that 
General Lee was going to win, but on the third day his army was 
defeated and finally had to retreat. 

General Grant won a number of the great battles of the war. 
One of his most important victories was the capture of Vicksburg, 
Mississippi, in July, 1863. This opened all of the Mississippi 
river to the Union armies. 

One of the most important victories of the Confederate 
soldiers during the war was the battle of Chickamauga in Georgia. 
In this battle which was fought in September, 1863. General 
Bragg led the Confederates against the Union soldiers under 
General Rosecrans. Soon afterwards, however. General Grant 
came with a large army and won a great battle at Chattanooga, 
Tennessee. 

After this victory at Chattanooga, Grant was made com- 
mander-in-chief of all the Union armies. 

The Northern army had many more soldiers and much more 
money than the Southern army had, and in time was victorious, 
but the Confederate soldiers were wonderfully brave and fought 
so desperately that it was very hard to conquer them. 

On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered to General Grant 
at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Shortly afterwards the 
war ended and the four years of dreadful fighting were over. 



THE CIVIL WAR 133 

After the war Congress passed a law forbidding slavery for- 
ever in our country. 



I. Tell what you can about — 

1. The causes of the Civil war. 

2. The secession of the Southern states. 

3. The convention at Montgomery, Alabama. 

4. The inauguration of President Lincoln. 

5. The first fight of the Civil war. 

6. The raising of troops in the North and in the South. 

II. 1. Name the leading generals of the Northern and Southern 
armies. 

2. Tell what city became the capital of the Confederacy. 

3. Tell when the following states were admitted to the Union : 

a. Minnesota ; b. Oregon ; c. Kansas. 

4. Give the date of President Lincoln's proclamation freeing 

the slaves. 

5. Give an account of the battle of Gettysburg. 

6. Tefl what advantages the North had over the South. 

7. Tell of the surrender of General Lee. 

8. Tell about the law forbidding slavery. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 



Abraham Lincoln 

BOYHOOD 

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in an old 

log cabin in Kentucky. The cabin had no floor and there were 

large cracks between 
the logs. There was 
very little furniture 
in the house. 

Abe lived in this 
cabin with his mother 
and father and 
sister until he was 
eight years old. Then 
the family moved to 
Indiana. When they 
reached the place for 
the new home, Abe's 

father and another man chopped down trees and built a cabin of 

one room. Abe slept in a place above the room which he reached 

by climbing a ladder. 

Abe's father and mother were good and honest, but they were 

not educated people. His father could neither read nor write. 

His mother could read a little. She taught Abe all she knew. 

There were only four or five books in their home, but Abe read 

134 




THE HOUSE IN WHICH LINCOLN WAS BORN 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 135 

them over and over. Three of them were the Bible, Pilgrim's 
Progress, and Robinson Crusoe. 

After awhile Abe's mother died and later his father married 
again. His step-mother was very kind to him, and in time he 
learned to love her almost as well as he had loved his own mother. 

One winter a young man, who lived near Abe's home, taught 
him to write and Abe was very much delighted. He was too poor 
to buy paper and pencils, so he had to practice writing on the top 
of the table or on a shovel with a piece of chalk. 

In a few years a man named Mr. Crawford opened a school 
near Abe's home and Abe attended it. Mr. Crawford thought 
that Abe was a very fine boy. Once he lent him a book called 
" The Life of Washington." Abe took it home and was very 
careful with it, but one night there was a storm and the rain blew 
through the cracks of the house and spoiled the book. Abe took 
it back to Mr. Crawford and offered to work for him imtil he 
had earned enough to pay for it. Mr. Crawford was pleased 
with this and let Abe cut a field of fodder for him. It took Abe 
three days to cut it and then Mr. Crawford gave him the book. 



MANHOOD 

Lincoln had less than one year of school in his whole life, but 
as long as he lived, he kept on reading and studying and trying 
to learn more. 

When he was nineteen, a man engaged him to take a load of 
things on a flat-boat to New Orleans to sell for him. Lincoln 
was delighted to have this chance to see something of the world. 
He learned a great deal on the trip, and he showed that he had a 



136 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

good business head for in a short time he sold all of his goods and 
made a good profit. 

In 1830 the family moved to Illinois and built another log 
cabin there. 

When Lincoln was about twenty-two, he decided to leave 
home and make his own way in the world. He went to New 
Salem. For a time he was a clerk in a store there. Then he went 
in partnership with another man in a dry-goods and grocery 
store, but before long they failed. Lincoln's partner fled, but 
Lincoln stayed and in time paid all of their debts. 

Lincoln made many friends and was always so honest in every- 
thing that he was called " Honest Abe." Lie was good company 
for he was always pleasant and cheerful and always had a good 
story to tell. 

In 1832 he joined a company of soldiers to fight the Indians 
in the Black Hawk war, but he was not called on to do any 
fighting and soon returned to New Salem. He then began to 
study law and surveying. 

In 1833 he was made postmaster at New Salem and held that 
position for three years. 

He was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1834 and was 
re-elected for several terms. At that time the trouble in the 
United States over slavery was very serious. Lincoln did not 
believe in slavery and made many speeches against it. 

Springfield was made the capital of Illinois in 1839, and Lin- 
coln went there to live. He practiced law and was verv success- 
ful. In 1842 he married Miss Mary Todd of Kentucky. 

The people of Illinois sent him to Congress in 1846. He kept 
on making speeches against slavery, and after a time these 
speeches made him famous in all parts of the country. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 137 

He was elected President of the United States in November^ 
i860, and he was sworn into office the following March. 

Soon after Lincoln had become President, the Civil war broke 
out. It was hard to be President then^ but Lincoln acted wisely 
and kindly and by the end of the war people all over the world 
were praising him. 

The war lasted about four years. Before it was over, Lincoln 
made all the slaves in the Southern states free. 

In March, 1865, he was made President for a second term, 
and in April the war ended. 

Lincoln was very glad when the war was over. There was 
rejoicing everywhere, and there was a great celebration in 
Washington. 

On the evening of the fourteenth of April, Lincoln went with 
some friends to one of the theatres in Washington, and they sat 
in a box. While they were there a madman named John Wilkes 
Booth stepped into the box behind Lincoln and shot him. Lincoln 
was taken to a house near by and physicians were called, but he 
was mortally wounded and died the next morning. 

His death brought sorrow to many people for he had tried 
always to be just and kind in all that he did. He was a great 
man, and he is considered today one of the finest characters we 
have had in the history of our country. 



Tell about — 

L The house in which Lincoln was born and give the date of 
his birth. 

2. The other members of the family. 

3. The new home in Indiana. 

4. The books which Lincoln read over and over. 

5. His step-mother. 



138 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

6. His learning to write. 

7. The school he attended. 

8. His experience with the book he borrowed from Mr. Craw- 

ford. 

9. His trip to New Orleans. 

10. What happened in 1830. 
n. Tell — 

1. When Lincoln left home. 

2. What work he did first after leaving home. 

3. What made him popular among his companions. 

4. When he was elected a member of the Illinois legislature and 

how many terms he was a member. 

III. Tell what you can about — 

1. Lincoln's life in Springfield. 

2. His election to Congress. 

3. His speeches against slavery. 

4. His being made President of the United States. 

5. His emancipation of the slaves. 

6. His election for a second term. 

7. His death. 

IV. 1. Tell why you like Lincoln. 

2. Write a short essay about him in your own words 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
Ulysses S. Grant 

HIS YOUTH 

Ulysses S. Grant is one of the most noted men in the history 
of the United States. 

He was born at the little village of Point Pleasant on the Ohio 
river on April 2^, 1822. The family was poor and the house in 
which Ulysses was born had only two rooms. 

When Ulysses was about a year old, the family moved to 
another little village named Georgetown, about forty miles from 
Cincinnati, and there on a farm Ulysses grew up. 

At school he was slow, but he was not stupid. He studied 
hard and found out that by working faithfully, he generally suc- 
ceeded in doing what he tried to do. His playmates were very 
fond of him. They could always believe what he said for he 
hated lies and always told the truth. 

There is a fine military academy at West Point on the Hud- 
son river. Those who go through it generally become soldiers in 
the United States army. Grant's father sent him to West Point 
when he was seventeen. He was there for four years and then 
was graduated as a lieutenant. 

MANHOOD 

Soon after Grant had left West Point, he went to fight in the 
Mexican war. He was always brave and cool in the battles. 
During this war he was promoted twice for his bravery. 

139 



140 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 



Soon after the war, he was married. For awhile he stayed 
in the army and Hved at the army posts, but he found that a 
soldier's pay was not enough for his family, so he resigned and 
went to live on a farm near St. Louis. 

The family had a hard time there. Grant built their house 
himself and planted the corn and potatoes on their farm. Some- 
times he cut wood and hauled loads of it to town and sold it. 

At last Grant decided that he was a very poor farmer and he 
gave up farming. He tried several other kinds of work, 
but he was not very successful in any. 

Before long, however, there was another war. It was the 
Civil war between the Northern and Southern states. Grant was 

made Colonel of an Illinois regi- 
ment. He was a wonderful soldier 
and he won so many battles that 
in time President Lincoln made 
him commander-in-chief of all the 
Union armies. He was given the 
rank of lieutenant-general. 

After the defeat of the South- 
ern army and General Lee's sur- 
render, General Grant was the hero 
of the Northern states. Congress 
gave him the title of general and 
people in all parts of the North 
sent him large sums of money. 
The people of Galena, Illinois, where he had once lived, gave 
him a beautiful home, and a library of fine books was sent to 
him from Boston. 

In 1868 he was elected President of the United States. 




GEN. U. S. GRANT 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 141 

After having served as President for two terms, he took a 
trip around the world and was received everywnere as if he were 
a king. He met all of the greatest rulers in Europe and in Asia, 
and a number of them entertained him. 

A few years after this, he lost all of his money and suffered 
many hardships, and not long afterwards he was taken ill and 
never regained his health. He suffered greatly the last year of 
his life, but he bore his illness bravely. He was as brave in his 
troubles as he had been on the battlefield. 

He died in 1885. There were Southern as well as Northern 
people at his funeral, and great captains of both armies carried 
his body to the grave. A very beautiful tomb has been erected 
to his honor in New York city. 



I. Tell — 

1. Who Ulysses Grant was. 

2. The name of his birthplace and the date of his birth. 

3. Something of his school life when a boy and of his train 

ing at West Point. 
II. Tell about — 

1. Grant in the Mexican war. 

2. His married life after the war. 

3. His success in the Civil war. 

4. How the people in the North showed their appreciation 01 

what he did. 

5. His election to the Presidency, 

6. His trip around the world. 

7. His losses and ill health. 

8. His death and funeral. 

III. Tell what you think of Grant's character. 



CHAPTER XXXV 
Robert E. Lee 

HIS YOUTH 

Robert E. Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia, on January 
19, 1807, His father fought in the Revolutionary war and was 
called " Light Horse Harry " because he was a splendid cavalry- 
man. 

When Robert was six, his father had to leave home and go 
to the West Indies on account of his poor health. A few years 
later he died when on his way home, and Robert never saw him 
again. 

Robert went to private schools when he was a boy. He was 
a favorite both among teachers and pupils for he stood high 
in his classes, and at the same time was a good play-fellow. 

He inherited the soldier instinct of his father and when he 
was eighteen, he, too, resolved to be a soldier. 

General Andrew Jackson was a friend of his, and through him 
he was appointed a cadet at the Military Academy at West Point. 
He became noted there for his hard study and perfect obedience, 
and before long he was made an ofBcer in the cadet battalion. 

There were forty-six in Lee's class when he was graduated 
and he stood second. He had not received one demerit during 
his whole college course. 



142 



ROBERT E. LEE 



143 



MANHOOD 

After his graduation he was made an officer in the United 
States army and was in the engineer corps. He soon became dis- 
tinguished for his work in that position. 

Two years after he had left West Point, he married a great 
granddaughter of Mrs. George Washington. Their home was 
a beautiful place called Arlington on the Potomac river. After 
his marriage he was advanced to higher positions in the army. 




LEE'S HOME. 



When the Mexican war broke out, he went to serve under 
General Scott. He showed great courage and skill and he was 
promoted several times during the war. General Scott some- 
times discussed his plans with Lee and often took his advice. 

In 1852 Lee was made superintendent of the Military 
Academy at West Point and held that position for three years. 

Then he was put in command of a regiment of cavalry and 
was sent to the frontier of Texas to protect the settlers there 
from the Indians. 



144 



ROBERT E. LEE 



\\^hen the Civil war broke out, he was called to Washington. 
President Lincoln offered him the command of the Union armies. 
Lee did not want the Union to be dissolved, but he could not fight 
against his own state. 

When Virginia seceded, he resigned his position in the United 
States army and was put in command of the Virginia troops. 
Later he became the chief commander of the Southern armies. 
He proved to be a great soldier and leader. His soldiers 

loved him dearly. He would some- 
tim.es ride among them during a 
battle to encourage them, and often 
the wounded soldiers would take oft' 
their hats and cheer for him as he 
passed. 

The Union soldiers found him a 
hard man to conquer, but after four 
years of hard fighting, he was forced 
to yield. 

After the war, he was offered 

many high positions. He accepted 

ROBERT E. LEE. ^^iQ presidency of the Washington 

University, now called the Washington and Lee University, in 

Lexington, Virginia, and held that position until his death which 

was on October 12, 1870. 

In appearance Lee was tall and fine-looking ; in manner he 
was courteous, dignified, and a perfect gentleman ; and in char- 
acter he was noted for always being honorable and upright. 




Tell abonl — 

1. Lee's birth. 

2. His father. 



ROBERT E. LEE 145 

3. His education. 

4. His position after his graduation. 

5. His marriage and his home, 

6. The part he took in the Mexican war. 

7. His superintendency at West Point, 

8. His work on the frontier of Texas. 

9. The offer that Lincoln made him when the Civil war broke 

out and the reason he refused it. 

10. His positions in the Southern army. 

n. The love that his soldiers had for him. 

12. The position he held after the Civil war. 

13. His death. 

n. 1. Tell why Lee was considered a fine man. 

2. Write a short sketch of his life in your own words. 



10 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



Thomas J. Jackson 

HIS YOUTH 

Thomas J. Jackson, or '' Stonewall " Jackson, as he was 
called, was one of the most brilliant generals that fought in the 

Civil war. He was a great hero in 
the South and was much loved by 
the Southern people. 

He was born in Clarksburg, 
Virginia, on January 21, 1824, and 
was descended from Scotch-Irish 
people. 

When he was three years old, 
he was left an orphan. He grew 
to be a manly little fellow, and as 
soon as he was old enough, he went 
to work and began to support himself. 

When he grew up, he wanted to go to West Point and then 
join the army. He heard of a vacancy in the Academy and 
decided to go to Washington and ask a Congressman who was 
there from Virginia to have him appointed. He did not have 
money enough to ride all the way to Washington, so he walked 
a great part of it. He wore just a plain suit of homespun cloth. 
The Congressman from Virginia took him to the Secretary of 
War, and the Secretary was so much pleased with him that he at 
once gave him the appointment to West Point. 

146 




STONEWALL " JACKSON 



THOMAS J. JACKSON 147 

Jackson studied so hard at the Academy that he was rapidly 
promoted. 

MANHOOD 

After he was graduated, he went to take part in the Mexican 
war. He distinguished himself in this war by his bravery and 
was twice advanced in rank. 

When the United States soldiers reached the City of Mexico, 
Jackson attended some religious services there and was very 
much interested in them. He joined the church and all the rest 
of his life was deeply religious. Wherever he was, he did much 
good among the people with whom he lived. At his home he 
had Bible lessons for his negro servants every Sunday, and the 
negroes loved him. He always prayed before and after every 
battle that he fought. 

A few years after the Mexican war, he was made one of the 
professors in the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, and 
held that position for several years. 

When the Civil war broke out, he was made a colonel in the 
army of Virginia and soon afterwards was promoted to higher 
rank. 

At one time during the Battle of Bull Run, the Southern 
soldiers were begining to waver. All at once some one called out, 
" Look at Jackson ! There he stands like a stone wall ! '' When 
the soldiers saw how brave he was, they rallied and followed him 
and won the battle. After this he was called " Stonewall " 
Jackson. 

Jackson became a wonderful commander. During one cam- 
paign, his men marched four hundred miles and fought five battles 
in thirty-two days. 



148 THOMAS J. JACKSON 

During the war Jackson wore a faded gray suit, an old cadet 
cap, and cavalry boots. He did not look much like a great com- 
mander. His soldiers almost worshiped him. They would 
wave their hats and cheer him whenever he appeared. 

At the battle of Chancellorsville, in May, 1863, there was a 
great deal of dense smoke and confusion. Jackson's own men 
shot him by mistake and wounded him. He lived only a few 
days afterwards. His last words were, " Let us cross over the 
river and rest under the shade of the trees." 



Tell — 

1. Who Thomas J. Jackson was. 

2. Where and when he was born. 

3. About his boyhood. 

4. How he managed to go to West Point. 

5. What he did in the Mexican war. 

6. About his becoming a Christian. 

7. About the good he did. 

8. Of his being a professor in the Virginia Military Institute. 

9. Of his rank in the Civil war. 

10. How he got his nickname of " Stonewall " Jackson. 

11. What remarkable thing his soldiers did in one of his great 

campaigns. 

12. How he dressed during the war. 

13. How his soldiers loved him. 

14. How he met his death. 

15. What his last words were. 

16. What you think of his character. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
Events Following the Civil War 

THE SOUTH AND THE WEST 

After the Civil War, there was disorder and trouble in the 
South. Many homes and plantations had been destroyed during 
the war, and thousands of people had been made poor. Trouble 
arose with the negroes who had been freed, and there was bad 
government for a number of years. 

In time, however, there was peace, and then the South began 
to prosper. Many new cities grew up and many railway lines 
were built throughout the Southern states. 

The West also improved rapidly after the Civil war. Within 
a few years a great many towns were started where, before the 
war, there had been only wilderness or barren plains. In 1869 
the first continuous railway route from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
was completed. Thousands of people began moving west. Some 
went to work in the mines of gold and silver that had been dis- 
covered in the Rocky mountains ; some went to settle on ranches ; 
and others went to build towns and cities. 



THE INDIANS 

As the white people have moved westward, driving the Indians 
before them, horrid massacres by the Indians have occurred from 
time to time. 

149 



150 EVENTS FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR 

In 1862 a band of the Sioux killed about five hundred people 
in new settlements in Minnesota. A war followed and a number 
of the Indian leaders were hanged. 

In 1867 General George Custer, a brave officer in the United 
States army, was sent to attack some Indians who were giving 
trouble to settlers on the western plains. He followed them to 
their villages in what is now the state of Oklahoma, and in 1868 
defeated them so severely that the Southern tribes gave no more 
trouble. Six years later he was sent North to fight against the 
Sioux Indians. In the summer of 1876, he and his party were 
surrounded by a band of these Indians in Montana and all were 
killed. Other troops were sent against the Sioux, and they drove 
them into Canada where they were forced to stay for a number of 
years. 

NEW STATES AND TERRITORY 

There were thirty- four states when the Civil war broke out. 
Then, during the war, West Virginia was admitted to the Union 
in 1863 and Nevada in 1864. Nebraska was made a state in 1867 ; 
Colorado in 1876; North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and 
Washington in 1889; Idaho and Wyoming in 1890; and Utah in 
1896. 

In 1867 the United States bought Alaska from Russia for 
about $7,200,000. Alaska is valuable for its furs, fisheries, and 
minerals. Gold has been found in a number of places and in 
some regions there is coal in great quantities. 



I. Tell about — 
1. The condition of the South after the Civil war. 
2. The improvements after the war. 



EVENTS FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR 151 

3. The growth of the West. 

4. General Custer's victory over the Southern Indians in 1868. 

5. The death of General Custer. 

II. 1. Name the states admitted to the Union from 1863 to 1896. 
2. Tell about the purchase of Alaska. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

Inventions 

As our country has grown, a number of inventions have been 
made by Americans. These inventions have made great changes 
in the hfe of the people. Some of the most important of them 
are the cotton-gin invented by EU Whitney, the telegraph by 
Samuel ]\Iorse, the sewing-machine by Elias Howe, the 
steamboat by Robert Fulton, the telephone by Alexander Graham 
Bell, Edison's wonderful electrical inventions, and the various 
agricultural machines that save labor on the farm. 



THE COTTON-GIN 

There are many cotton-fields in the southern part of the 
United States. A long time ago it was hard work to get the seeds 
from the cotton for men had to pull them out with their hands and 
it took a long time. 

After awhile, however, a man invented a machine that could 
take out the seeds. It was Eli Whitney of Massachusetts who 
had gone to Georgia to teach. He was a skilful mechanic, and 
when he saw how much trouble the people were having with the 
cotton-seeds, he set to work to make a machine that could remove 
them. He w^orked steadily on it for about a year and finally suc- 
ceeded. The machine he made could separate the seeds from a 
great many pounds in a day. 

152 



INVENTIONS 



153 



Whitney invited some planters to come and see it and they 
were very much delighted with it. They called it a cotton-gin. 




THE FIRST COTTON GIN 



This was in 1793. Soon there were cotton-gins on almost 
all of the plantations in the Southern states, and cotton-fields 
became worth thousands of dollars. 



THE STEAMBOAT 

Robert Fulton made the first steamboat that was a success. 
Other men had tried to do it but had failed. 

Fulton was born near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 

He was not a good scholar but he liked to draw and to invent 
things. Once when one of his teachers asked him why he did 



154 INVENTIONS 

not study harder, he said : " My mind is full of new ideas. There 
is not room enough for books." 

When he was a small boy, he made a lead-pencil in a new 
shape, and when he was thirteen, he made a new kind of sky- 
"rocket. One day when he was having a hard time pushing 
an old flatboat along a river with poles, he put paddle-wheels on 
the sides of it and then made it go by turning the paddle-wheels 
by a crank. 

When he was seventeen, he went to Philadelphia where he 
rented a studio and painted pictures and sold them. 

When he had money enough, he bought a farm for his 
mother, and then went to England to study art. But he did not 
become a great artist for he liked to draw pictures of machines 
better than to paint pictures of places or of people. After a time 
he became a mechanical engineer, and built fine bridges and drew 
plans for boats. 

After having invented a number of things in England, he 
went to Paris. There he met Robert R. Livingston who was the 
United States Minister to France. He remained in Paris for 
seven years. While he was there he invented what we now call 
a submarine boat. In times of war, a submarine boat can fire a 
torpedo from under the water at an enemy's ship and blow it up. 

After this Fulton wanted to make a boat that could be run by 
steam. Mr. Livingston became interested in the idea and gave 
him money enough to make the experiment. 

Fulton worked hard and in 1803 the boat was finished. He 
sailed it on the river Seine, but it went slowly and he was not 
satisfied with it. He and Livingston then came to America, and 
he built another boat in New York on the Hudson river. The 
new boat was called the Clermont. 



INVENTIONS 



155 



On September lo, 1807, a large crowd of people assembled 
on the banks of the Hudson river to see it start off. Most of 
them doubted that it would go but they were mistaken. It 
steamed up and went off smoothly without any trouble. 




THE CLERMONT 



It went on to Albany which was a distance of a hundred and 
fifty miles. After this it made many other trips. 

Before long there were steamboats running on many of the 
rivers and this helped a great deal in building up the country. 



RAILWAYS 

Railway cars were first used in England. 

In 1809 a three-mile railway was built in Pennsylvania to 
haul coal from a stone quarry. It had wooden rails, and small 
carloads of stone were pulled over it by horses. Several other 
roads were built for hauling coal in Massachusetts and Penn- 
sylvania in 1827. 

In 1829 Horatio Allen, a railroad engineer, brought a locomo- 
tive from England to Pennsylvania for the Delaware and Hudson 



156 INVENTIONS 

Canal company to use in hauling coal from Carbondale to Hones- 
dale, a distance of sixteen miles. This was the first locomotive 
used in the United States. 

Later the railroads were made longer, and passengers rode 
in the cars. The first passenger train in the United States was 
run on the Baltimore and Ohio railway in 1830. It ran from 
Baltimore to Ellicott, which was a distance of fifteen miles. The 
train was made up of connected stage coaches, or wagons, and 
was drawn by horses. Later very small locomotives were used. 

Peter Cooper was the first man in the United States to make 
a locomotive. It was made at his iron-works near Baltimore in 




ONE OF THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAINS 

1830 and was run over the Baltimore and Ohio railway. It was 
very light with a boiler about the size of a barrel and drew only 
a small open car. 

After this, railways were built in many parts of the country 
and the trains were greatly improved. In 1830 there were only 
twenty-three miles of railway in use in the United States. Now 
there are over 200,000 miles of railway systems. 

The United States has the best trains in the world and more 
miles of railway than any other country. Sleeping cars and din- 
ing cars were first used on American trains. 



INVENTIONS 157 

THE TELEGRAPH 

At one time it took days and sometimes weeks to send news 
from one place to another far away. 

Now we can send messages by telegraph hundreds of miles 
in less than one minute. 

Samuel Morse was the man who found out how to do this. 

He was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. When he grew 
up, he went to France to study art and lived there with several 
other artists for a few years. They were far from home and it 
took a very long time to get letters from their friends. Morse 
began to wonder if it might not be possible to invent something 
by which news could be sent quickly from one place to another. 

After a time he returned to America and became a pro- 
fessor in a university in New York. He kept on thinking, how- 
ever, of a way to send messages over long distances in a short 
time. 

One day he took a long wire, fastened a sharp-pointed piece 
of iron to each end of it, and fixed an electric battery so that he 
could make electricity run along the wire. Then when a mark 
was made at one end, a mark just like it was made at the other 
end by means of a magnet which moved the sharp piece of iron. 
This was the beginning of the telegraph. 

It was a long time before Morse made any money from his 
telegraph. He was very poor for several years and was often 
hungry. 

A man named Alfred Vail happened to see his telegraph one 
day and he borrowed two thousand dollars from his father and 
became Morse's partner. They worked together and improved 
the telegraph, but they did not have money enough to build tele- 
graph lines from one city to another. 



158 



INVENTIONS 



Finally Morse asked Congress for $30,000 to build a line 
from Washington to Baltimore. The 
members of Congress hesitated at 
first for they feared that it might not 
be a success, but finally they let him 
have the money, and Morse was very 
happy indeed. 

In 1844 the line was ready for 
use and a lady sent the first message 
over it. It was : " What hath God 
wrought ! " 

Now there are many thousands 
of miles of telegraph lines in the 
United States and in Europe. The 
lines that run through the ocean are 
called cables. We can send telegrams 
to all parts of the world in a very short time. 

Morse became a wealthy man and was much honored both 
at home and abroad because of his invention. 




S. F. B. MORSE, 



THE TELEPHONE, 

The telephone is one of the most useful of modern in- 
ventions. With it people can carry on a conversation in an ordi- 
nary voice from one house to another, and from one city to 
another far away. The sounds are sent from place to place by 
means of electricity. 

Men in different parts of the world worked on the telephone 
for a number of years before a good one was invented. The 



INVENTIONS 



159 



first really successful one was invented by Dr. Alexander 
Graham Bell. 

Dr. Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1847. In 1871 
he came to the United States to show a method of teaching the 
deaf to speak, and since then he 
has made his home in our 
country. 

He became interested in the 
idea of the telephone, and after 
having made experiments for 
several years, he gave an exhibi- 
tion of one at the Centennial 
Exposition in Philadelphia in 
1876. People were very much in- 
terested in this great invention. 
Improvements were made on it 
and before long it was perfected. 

Millions of telephones are 
now in use in the United States 
and other countries. With the 
long distance telephone people can talk to each other over very 
great distances. It is now possible to carry on a conversation 
between New York and San Francisco, — a distance of 3000 
miles. 




DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL 



EDISON S ELECTRICAL INVENTIONS 

Thomas Edison is one of our greatest inventors. Some of 
his inventions are the incandescent electric lamp, the long distance 
telephone, the phonograph, the motion picture camera and films. 



160 INVENTIONS 

and the storage battery which is used in street cars and auto- 
mobiles. 

Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847. He had very little 
schooling. When he was twelve, he became a newsboy on a train 
on the Grand Trunk railway that ran betwen Detroit and Port 
Huron. There was a freight car on the train. Edison bought a 
small hand press and some type and printed a little paper in one 
corner of this car. He called it the " Grand Trunk Herald " 
and sold it at three cents a copy. It had a great deal of railroad 
news in it, and before long about three hundred railroad men 
were subscribing for it. 

After awhile Edison went home and set up a work-shop 
in the basement. Here he worked at various things. He made 
many experiments in chemistry and he worked on machinery. 

One day, when he happened to be at a station, he saved the 
life of the station agent's child who was nearly run over by a 
train. The child's father out of gratitude taught him telegraphy. 
Edison soon became a very good telegraph operator. But while 
he worked, he would sometimes get to thinking of some new 
thing he wanted to make, and then he would not do his work 
well, and this often got him into trouble. 

He soon began to invent some very good things. The first 
money he received for his inventions was $40,000 which was paid 
him by a man in New York in 1870. With this money he built 
a large manufacturing establishment in Newark, New Jersey, 
where many things were made. 

Later he built a laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, and 
worked there only on his inventions. Hundreds of men worked 
in this laboratory for him. 



INVENTIONS 



161 



In 1887 he moved to the laboratory in West Orange where 
he now does his work. 

On the night of December 14, 1914, a dreadful fire broke out 
at the laboratory and destroyed most of the buildings with every- 
thing in them. Many valu- 
able things that Edison had 
worked on for years were 
burned. 

Most men would have 
been utterly discouraged 
and would not have thought 
of rebuilding. But Edison 
is a man of wonderful en- 
ergy. When some one 
asked him if he would give 
up his work, he said, " No, 
I'm sixty-seven years old, 
but I'm not too old to take 
a fresh start to-morrow." 
And early the next morning 
he had gangs of men clearing up the wreck, and within two days 
had given orders for the shops to be rebuilt and for them to be 
better than the old ones. 

Edison has made more than three hundred useful inventions 
and has improved the telegraph and many electrical instruments. 

When people in Europe heard of his inventions, they wished 
to do him honor. There is a society in France called the 
Legion of Honor. When men do great things, they are made 
members of this society, and the French Government made Edison 
a member of it. Then he received medals and other honors 
11 




THOMAS A. EDISON 
{Copyright igo8, by Underivood & Unclericood.) 



162 INVENTIONS 

from King Humbert of Italy and from a number of societies in 
England. 

Edison says his success has come from hard work. He is 
very persevering. When he makes failures, he does not give up, 
but works day after day until he gets what he wants. He worked 
over five years on a storage battery, and made several thousand 
incandescent electric lamps before he had one that satisfied him. 



I. Tell what was invented by the following men — 

1. Eli Whitney. 

2. Robert Fulton. 

3. Samuel Morse. 

4. Elias Howe. 

5. Alexander Graham Bell. 

6. Thomas Edison. 

II. Give the dates of the following — 

1. The invention of the cotton-gin. 

2. The launching of the Clermont. 

3. The building of the first railway in the United States. 

4. The running of the first passenger train. 

5. The completion of the first telegraph line. 

6. The invention of the first successful telephone. 

III. Tell what you can in your own words about — 

1. Railways in America, 

2. Samuel Morse. 

3. Robert Fulton. 

4. Eli Whitney. 

5. Thomas Edison. 

6. Alexander Graham Bell. 

IV. Tell what invention you think is the most important and give 

your reasons for thinking so. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 



Some of Our Writers 

Our country has not done so much in literature as it has in 
inventions, in the building of cities, and along business lines, 
but we have had some very fine writers since the beginning of 
the nineteenth century. 

Washington Irving was the first noted American writer of 
fiction. He was born in New York in 
1783. His ''Sketch Book " is a collec- 
tion of famous short stories. " Rip 
Van Winkle " and " The Legend of 
Sleepy Hollow " are two of them. He 
wrote some good biographies, one of 
which is the " Life of Washington." 

James Fenimore Cooper, born in 
Burlington, New Jersey, in 1789, is 
famous for his stories of adventure. 



"The Pioneers." "The S 



py. 



and 




WASHINGTON IRVING 



" The Mohicans " are three of his best 
novels. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson, an essayist, poet, and lecturer, is con- 
sidered one of the greatest thinkers that America has had. His 
essays and lectures on philosophy have made him much talked 
about both in America and England. He was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, in 1803, and died at Concord in 1882. 

163 



SOME OF OUR WRITERS 




RALPH WALDO 
EMERSON 



NATHANIEL 
HAWTHORNE 



TAMES FEMMORE 
COOPER 



Nathaniel Hawthorne, born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804, 
was a writer of fiction. '' The Scarlet Letter," " The Marble 
Faun,'' " The House of Seven Gables," and " Twice Told Tales " 
are some of his most famous books. He is noted for his fine 
English. 

Edgar Allan Poe is a very famous writer who was born in 
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809. His 
works have been translated into many 
foreign languages. His poems and 
short stories are weird and fantastic. 
"The Raven," "The Bells," and 
"Annabel Lee " are three of his best 
known poems, and " The Fall of the 
House of Usher," and " The Gold 
Bug " are among his best short stories. 
He died in Baltimore in 1849. 

Henry W. Longfellow is a very 
popular poet. He was born in Port- 
land, Maine, in 1807. " Evangeline," 
" The Courtship of Myles Standish," 




EDGAR ALLAN POE 



SOME OF OUR WRITERS 



165 



" Hiawatha," and the " Psalm of Life " are some of the best liked 
of his poems. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he 
was seventy-five years old. 

John Greenleaf Whittier is another poet of New England who 
was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1807. He wrote a 
number of poems describing country life and many against 
slavery. One of his most beautiful poems is " Snowbound." 
Others are '^ Maud Muller " and " The Barefoot Boy." 




JOHN GREENLEAF HENRY WADSWORTH OLIVER WENDELL 

WHITTIER LONGFELLOW HOLMLb 

Oliver Wendell Holmes of Massachusetts is famous for his 
humor. " The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table " is one of his 
best books. He wrote both prose and poetry. " The Chambered 
Nautilus " and " The Last Leaf " are two of his best poems. He 
was a very brilliant man and was much admired in England 
as well as in America. He died in Boston when he was eighty- 
five years old. 

James Russell Lowell is a poet, essayist, and critic. He was 
born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1819. His best known 
poems are " The Vision of Sir Launfal " and a collection called 
the *' Biglow Papers." He died in 1891. 



166 SOME OF OUR WRITERS 

Later writers of note are the novelists Henry James of New 
York, James Lane Allen of Kentucky, Francis Marion Crawford 
who lived mostly in Europe, Thomas Nelson Page of Virginia, 
and Winston Churchill of Missouri; and the humorists, Samuel 
Langhorne Clemens ("Mark Twain"), and Eugene Field, both 
of Missouri. Field is especially noted for his poems for children. 



L Name some of the most noted of — 

1. American poets. 

2. American novelists. 

3. American essayists. 

4. American humorists. 

II. Tell when and where the following writers were born and name 
some of the principal works of each — 

1. James Fenimore Cooper. 

2. Edgar Allan Foe. 

3. Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

4. Washington Irving. 

5. Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

6. Henry W. Longfellow^ 

7. James Russell Lowell. 

8. John Greenleaf Whittier. 

9. Oliver Wendell Holmes. 



CHAPTER XL 
The Spanish War 

THE CAUSES AND THE BEGINNING 

Before the Spanish war, Cuba was owned by Spain. The 
Spaniards treated the Cubans unjustly. They made them pay 
heavy taxes and the Cubans were too poor to do this. The 
Cubans had rebelled a number of times and had tried to gain 
their freedom, but the Spaniards had always conquered them. 

When they rebelled again in 1895, Spain sent soldiers to 
subdue them and the soldiers were very cruel. Thousands of 
the Cubans were taken from their farms and shut up in cities and 
hundreds of them starved to death. Our people sent food to 
those who were starving, but many of them could not be reached. 

A large number of Americans were living in Cuba at that 
time. One of our warships called the Maine was sent to the 
harbor of Havana to protect the Americans. On the night of 
February 15, 1898, she was destroyed by an explosion that killed 
two hundred and sixty of her crew. An investigation was made, 
and it was found that the ship had been blown up by a torpedo 
or a mine. 

Congress and President McKinley now decided that they 
would stop the war. They demanded that Spain withdraw her 
armies from Cuba. Spain would not do this, and then war was 
declared. 

167 



168 THE SPANISH WAR 

Our government sent a fleet under Admiral Sampson to block- 
ade Havana. This was to prevent Spain from sending more 
soldiers to Cuba. 



DEWEY's victory in MANILA BAY 

Commodore George Dewey was in command of an American 
fleet on the coast of China. It lay in the port of Hong-Kong 
which belongs to England. 

The Philippine islands belonged to Spain at that time, and 
there was a strong Spanish fleet in the harbor of Manila, the 
capital of the Philippines. As soon as war was declared, Presi- 
dent McKinley telegraphed Dewey to capture or destroy this fleet. 

On the first of May, before daylight, Dewey entered the 
harbor of Manila and surprised and destroyed the whole Spanish 
fleet. Over six hundred Spaniards were killed or wounded, and 
not one man was lost on our side. 

Congress voted that Dewey be given a sword of honor and 
the President made him a rear-admiral. Before the war was 
over, he was made an admiral, which is the highest rank in the 
navy. 

EVENTS IN CUBA 

A Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera took refuge in the 
harbor of Santiago de Cuba. In order to prevent it from escap- 
ing, the American fleets under Admiral Sampson and Com- 
modore Schley were sent to blockade the harbor. 

It was decided that it would be a good plan to close up the 
narrow channel leading to the harbor. Lieutenant R. P. Hobson 
and seven other men volunteered to do this. They took a coal 



THE SPANISH WAR 



169 



ship into the channel while the Spaniards were shooting all 
around them, fastened torpedoes under it, and sank it half-way 
across the channel. They jumped into the water just before the 
torpedoes exploded. The Spaniards captured them, but later 
they were exchanged for Spanish prisoners of war. This deed 




TH£ BATTLESHIP '" OREGON " 

of Hobson and his men was one of the bravest things done during 
the war. 

A number of brave charges were made on the islands of Cuba 
and Porto Rico by our land forces, and important victories were 
won. Among those who led our soldiers on land were Generals 
Shafter, Wheeler, Chaffee, Miles, and Colonel Roosevelt. 

Our armies in Cuba gradually advanced toward the city of 
Santiago. The Spaniards began to fear that the city would be 
taken, and on the third of July, Cervera's six ships sailed 



^7Q THE SPANISH WAR 

out of the harbor. They tried to escape, but in a short time all 
of them were sunk or stranded by the American ships that were 
waiting for them. Many of the Spaniards were killed and 
eighteen hundred of them were made prisoners of war. 

THE CLOSE OF THE WAR 

The Spaniards surrendered Santiago on the fourteenth of 
July, and pn the twelfth of August, Spain asked for peace. Just 
before this news reached Admiral Dewey, he and General Merritt, 
who had charge of our land forces at the Philippines, captured 

Manila. 

A treaty of peace was signed at Paris in December. Spam 
withdrew her troops from Cuba, and gave to the United States 
the island of Porto Rico, Guam in the Ladrones, and the Philip- 
pines on our payment of $20,000,000 for public works there. 

In 1901 the people of Cuba declared themselves independent, 
and in 1902 the United States withdrew her troops from the 
island and acknowledged its independence. 



I. Tell — 

1. What the cause of the Spanish War was. 

2. How the Spaniards had treated the Cubans for many years 

before the war. 

3. About the blowing up of the Maine. 

4. What Admiral Sampson did at the beginning of the war. 
XL Tell about — 

1. Dewey's victory in Manila bay. 

2. The blockade of the harbor of Santiago. 

3. Lieutenant Hobson's brave deed. 

4 The work of our soldiers on land, 

5. The destruction of Cevera's fleet and surrender of Santiago. 

6. The result of the war. 

7. Cuba's declaration of independence. 



CHAPTER XLI 

Events Since the Spanish War 

In 1898 the Hawaiian islands, at their request, were annexed 
to the United States, and in 1900 they were made one of our 
territories. 

In 1900 President McKinley was re-elected. But the next 
year, while he was holding a public reception at the Pan-American 
exposition in Buffalo, New York, he was shot by an assassin. 
His death followed a week later. There was grief everywhere 
when the news of this tragedy was heard. The day of the 
funeral was observed not only over all of our own country, but 
also in many of the large cities of Europe. 

After the death of President McKinley, Vice-President 
Roosevelt became President. 



THE PANAMA CANAL 

During Roosevelt's administration, the United States began 
work on the construction of the Panama canal. 

The republic of Panama is in Central America. It belonged 
to the republic of Columbia in South America until 1903 when it 
seceded and became independent. 

A railway, which was begun in 1850, was built across the 
isthmus of Panama from the city of Colon on the Atlantic side 
to Panama on the Pacific side. Later a French company began 

171 



172 EVENTS SINCE THE SPANISH WAR 

to construct a ship canal here to connect the two oceans, but after 
having done a good deal of work on it, they failed. The United 
States then decided to finish the canal. 

Our country bought the property rights of the French com- 
pany from them, and in 1903 made a treaty in regard to the build- 
ing of the canal with the new republic of Panama. 

By the treaty, the republic of Panama agreed to sell to the 
United States a strip of land ten miles wide across the isthmus 
and extending three miles out into the sea at each end. This 
strip of land is called the Canal Zone. The canal runs through 
the centre of it. The cities of Panama and Colon were not in- 
cluded in this purchase. 

In May, 1904, work was begun on the canal. It was a 
tremendous undertaking, and from 1904 to 1907 a number of 
changes had to be made in the men in charge of the work. In 
1907 the President appointed Colonel George W. Goethals of 
the United States army engineering corps to take charge of the 
work, and gave him the governing power in the Canal Zone. 
From this time the work went on rapidly. An average of 35,000 
to 40,000 men were kept working on it at a time. 

President Wilson, who had been made President in 1913, 
appointed Colonel Goethals governor of the Canal Zone in 
January, 19 14. 

On the eighteenth of August, the first regular trip through 
the canal was made by the steamer Ancona, and the canal was 
opened the same day to all nations of the world. It took the 
Ancona ten hours to make the passage from ocean to ocean. 
After this, ships of commerce at once began making use of the 
canal. 



EVENTS SINCE THE SPANISH WAR 



173 



The construction of the canal is considered the greatest 
engineering piece of work that has ever been accompHshed. The 
length of the canal from Colon to Panama is forty-one and a half 
miles, and from deep water in the Caribbean sea to deep water in 
the Pacific ocean it is fifty miles. The cost of the canal up to the 
time the Ancona made the first regular trip through it was about 
$350,000,000. 




:X THE PANAMA CANAL 



General Goethals has been honored in a number of ways for 
the great work he has done. Several gold medals have been 
awarded him by different societies. In March, 19 14, Congress 
extended a vote of thanks to him, and gave him the title of major- 
general, and in the same month the National Geographic Society 
presented him with a special gold medal. 



174 EVENTS SINCE THE SPANISH WAR 

The Panama canal will be of great benefit to the world in a 
commercial way. In our country it makes it much easier 
than it was to carry on shipping trade between our eastern and 
western cities, and between our eastern cities and the western 
countries of South America and Hawaii. Before the canal was 
built, ships going from New York to San Francisco had to go 
around Cape Horn, — a distance of 13,000 miles. By way of the 
canal it is only 5,300 miles. Ships sailing between our eastern 
cities and China, Japan, and Australia can also save much time 
and expense by using the canal. 



NEW STATES 

Oklahoma was made a state in 1907, the year before the 
Spanish war. Then in 19 12, New Mexico and Arizona, the only 
remaining territories in the main portion of our country, were 
admitted to the Union. 

We have now only the two territories of Alaska and Hawaii. 



ALASKA 

Our territory of Alaska is very rich with its whale, seal, and 
salmon fisheries, its coal, and its gold fields, but so far it has 
been very little developed. In March, 1914, however, Congress 
passed a bill appropriating $35,000,000 to build a railway to some 
of its coal regions, and before long there will be great changes 
in this part of our land. Hundreds of people who have waited 
for the railway to open up the territory are now moving into it. 



EVENTS SINCE THE SPANISH WAR 



175 




SEALS ON THE COAST OF ALASKA 



11. 



Tell — 

1. When the Hawaiian islands were annexed to the United 

States. 

2. When Hawaii became a territory of the United States. 

3. About President McKinley's death. 
Tell what you can about — 

1. The republic of Panama. 

2. The Panama Canal. 

3. General Goethals. 

4. Alaska. 



CHAPTER XLII 
Changes in Our Country 

Wonderful changes have taken place in our country since it 
tecame independent. 

In 1776 there were less than four million people in the United 
States, nearly all of whom were living east of the Alleghanies. 
Now there are about one hundred million inhabitants, without 
counting those in our territories and distant islands, and they 
have spread over the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
Many thousands of people have come from European countries 
since the Revolutionary war, — chiefly from England, Germany, 
Ireland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden. 

State after state has been added to the original thirteen until 
now there are forty-eight covering the main portion of our land. 

When the railroads began to cross the western plains, settlers 
soon followed. Villages and towns grew up rapidly and large 
cattle ranches and fields of grain were started. Now great rail- 
way lines cross the country from east to west and there are 
large cities on the Pacific coast as well as on the Atlantic. There 
are thousands of rich grain-fields throughout the West, and every 
year hundreds of people go from the East and South to settle 
in this part of our land. 

The cities of our country have been greatly improved since 
colonial days. Railways, street-cars, electric lights, labor-saving 

176 



CHANGES IN OUR COUNTRY 177 

machines, the telegraph, and the telephone are some of the things 
that have made the changes. 

The United States has become the richest nation in the world. 
It leads all other countries in agricultural products, manufactures, 
and minerals. The grain and cattle of the Mississippi valley and 
western plains ; the gold and silver of our western mountains ; 
the timber from our forests; the cotton of the South; and the 
coal, iron, petroleum, and manufactured articles of the East have 
all brought us wealth. 

There are now more miles of railway and of telegraph lines 
in the United States than in any other country. The many in- 
ventions of Americans have added greatly to the comforts and 
conveniences of American homes. There are good schools 
throughout the country, and fine colleges and universities in many 
of our states. 

The opening of the Panama Canal, which will bring about a 
larger trade between the United States and other countries, and 
the development of Alaska^ which will follow the building of 
railways there, will add still more to the prosperity of our land. 



The following is a list of the Presidents of the United States up to 
the present time — 



George Washington 1789-1797 

John Adams 1797-1801 

Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 

James Aladison 1809-1817 

James Monroe 1817-1825 

John Quincy Adams 1825-1829 

Andrew Jackson 1829-1837 

Martin Van Buren 1837-1841 



William H. Harrison .1841- (4 mo.) 

John Tyler 1841-1845 

James K. Polk 1845-1849 

Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 

Millard Fillmore 1850-1853 

Franklin Pierce 1853-1857 

James Buchanan 1857-1861 

Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 



See Chapter XLI. 

12 



178 



CHANGES IN OUR COUNTRY 



Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 

Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877 

Rutherford B. Hayes ....1877-1881 

James A. Garfield 1881- 

Chester A. Arthur 1881-1885 

Grover Cleveland 1885-1889 



Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893 

Grover Cleveland 1893-1897 

William McKinley 1897-1901 

Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 

William Taft 1909-1913 

Woodrow Wilson 1913- 



